


It's Little, And Broken, But Still Good

by DarkWingsDarkWords48



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: AKA Ruby/Elsa, Bisexual Character, Bisexuality, Christmas, Cravings, F/F, Femslash, First Christmas, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, FrozenWolf, Kissing, Magic, Magical Pregnancy, Pregnancy, Season 4A AU, Swan Queen - Freeform, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving Dinner, Unplanned Pregnancy, Yeah I'm making that a thing, magic baby
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-16
Updated: 2014-12-08
Packaged: 2018-02-25 13:36:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 27,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2623631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkWingsDarkWords48/pseuds/DarkWingsDarkWords48
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One night of passion leads to an unexpected outcome that will pull Emma and Regina together once more as they navigate their own emotions, and the reactions of their friends and family.  Swan Queen, Emma/Regina, Post Season 4A AU, Magic!Baby fic Rated T or now, may increase in the future.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon A Time or any related characters. They all belong to Disney/ABC and their affiliated partners. I write this only for my enjoyment (and hopefully yours). 
> 
> A/N: Full credit for the title to Lilo And Stitch. Still can’t watch that scene without bawling my eyes out or, as of late, without thinking of the Swan-Mills family. I’ve read a few fics in the MagicBaby genre, and this is my take on it. 
> 
> This is set some time after Season 4 Episode 5 Breaking Glass, with the point of divergence being that last crypt scene with Emma and Regina (here it goes a bit differently). Also set after the Snow Queen’s defeat, which I am writing about here not having a clue what is going to happen so anyone reading well after Season4A, this is completely AU most likely. 
> 
> Starting off rated T, but I’m thinking it will go up in a few chapters. Trigger warning for this chapter, and likely others in this fic, there is mention of rape in a marital relationship (Regina’s). Nothing graphic but I’m putting it out there just in case. Hope you enjoy the fic!

-=<=(__)=>=-

** Chapter 1 **

-=<=(__)=>=-

**_November 9_ **

          Weeks. It’s been weeks since they were together. Since Emma’s apology in her crypt, after their brief confrontation with the Snow Queen. Since what happened afterward. They didn’t make love. No, it had been desperate affection perhaps. Rough fucking on every surface they could find until they were exhausted emotionally and physically. After was frightening. For both of them, Regina knows.

          Emotions they’ve held back and suppressed had boiled to the surface, and facing those in the morning is neither of their strong suits. So she’s gone weeks, talking to Emma only while she is around with Henry, or while they plan the demise of the Snow Queen. It has only been three days since that plan came to fruition. Three days since they trapped the woman in the urn that brought Elsa to this land.

          Elsa is happy, from what Regina has seen, having formed a tentative friendship with the younger queen over the last two weeks. Anna and Kristoff are in town, freed from the mirrors the Snow Queen trapped them in. Regina is helping them to search out a way back to Arendelle – so many of the methods used in the past are gone now. And she is not certain Elsa wishes to return any longer. She has seen her walking around the streets of Storybrooke with Ruby, hands brushing together and sneaking kisses with each other when they think no one is watching.

          Marian is thawed, and living with Robin and Roland, and it no longer hurts Regina to see them together. She knows it is for the best, and is glad that the supposed fate given by fairy dust is wrong. Robin was a kind man, but she does not love him.

          And now, with the latest threat vanquished, she has seen Emma only once in the last three days, and it hurts her now. These weeks have given her distance, time to examine her feelings, and she knows that she loves Emma. Emma, not Robin. What Robin made her feel pales in comparison to Emma. Now the only fear in her is that it is not returned.

          Regina startles, her glass of cider nearly slipping from her fingers, at the ring of her phone. She takes several breaths to calm herself, and looks at it, only slightly disappointed that it is Henry’s name, not Emma’s, that appears on the ID screen. He is staying the night at the apartment Emma has begun renting since after she lost control of her powers and the subsequent falling out with her parents that has lasted much of these last few weeks. Emma is only just beginning to mend her relationship with them, Henry has told her.

          “Hello, sweetheart, did you forget something here?” Regina answers the phone gently, carefully keeping out the emotions she’s been feeling from her voice.

          “No, Mom,” Henry says over the phone, his voice tremulous, and Regina frowns. He only sounds like that when he’s had a nightmare, and it’s barely past when he would have been eating dinner.

          “What is it, what’s wrong, Henry?” She asks, sitting up straight in her chair, setting her glass on the table.

          “It’s Ma. She’s… she said she’s sick, but she’s been puking a bunch, and now she’s in the bathroom and I can hear her crying but she locked the door and won’t let me in. Can you come over? Please? I’m really worried.”

          “Of course, I’ll be right there,” Regina replies, and thumbs the phone off, standing up. Hearing the fear in his voice, and the fact that it is about Emma, she doesn’t even consider her car, she simply waves her hand and disappears in a purplish puff of smoke.

          The first thing she sees in Emma’s small apartment is Henry’s face, pale with his eyes round and wide, and he latches onto her with a hug.

          “Will you help her?” He mumbles the question into her shirt, and the fact that he’s mumbling into her shoulder shocks her and she realizes then just how _tall_ he’s grown.

          “I’ll help her, sweetheart. Go stay in your room for me?” He looks like he’ll protest for a moment, but then sighs and nods, and trudges toward one of the bedrooms.

          Regina steps up to the flimsy wooden door and knocks on it. She only hears choked sobs from wthin, and an attempt to turn the doorknob confirms Henry’s statement. She sighs, trying to push down her worry at the sounds she can hear through the door, focuses her magic once more, and teleports herself inside.

          She nearly breaks her neck at first, landing on a discarded box that rests on the floor and then slips out from under her foot, but she catches her balance on the towel rack. Emma is sitting on the toilet, eyes wide in shock at her entrance, but filled with tears. Her face is pale, and the entire bathroom smells of vomit. Regina turns on the small bathroom fan, which hums and rattles as it tries to ventilate the room.

          Regina takes in the sight of the other woman more fully, her red-rimmed eyes, her slumped posture, and her trembling hands.

          “Regina,” Emma’s voice whispers. “You came?”

          “Of course. You’re scaring our son, dear, and from the look and smell of it he was right to be worried. What is wrong?

          Emma’s face crumples, and then her quaking hands lift up and reveal to Regina what she’s been holding in them. A long, thin, white device. And then she realizes what the box is that she slipped on. A pregnancy test. Regina stares at the lifted test, and feels her heart crumbling at the sight of the two blue lines visible on its display, confirming a ‘positive’ result.

          “I-I’m pregnant, Regina. I’ve been feeling sick the last week or so, but I only recognized the symptoms yesterday when I realized I missed a period. I’ve… I tried three others to make sure,” she waves her hand at the sink, and Regina sees different brands resting there, one with a plus sign, another with a digital ‘yes’ on its screen, and another with two green lines. “I don’t know what to do.”

          “I see.” Regina says, forcing her voice to remain as calm as she can, to not break on her and carry her pain at the fact that Emma has moved on. “I suppose the first thing you should think about is perhaps informing the father. Who is he?”

          Emma’s head snaps back up, her green eyes filled with tears. “I don’t know, Regina. I haven’t… I haven’t slept with anyone.”

          Regina snorts, her eyes rolling. “I don’t believe I need to explain the birds and the bees to you, Emma. Obviously you…” she pauses for a long second, and her stomach churns at a new thought, ghosts of her own past pressing down on her chest like an iron weight. “Emma… Emma, were you raped?”

          Emma jerks back, blinking rapidly. “What? No! Regina, I wasn’t raped – if I had been, someone in Storybrooke would have a bullet in balls by now.”

          “Have you had any blackouts? Times you can’t remember what happened?” Regina asks carefully, bending down to be at eye level with her.

          “Regina. I’m telling you,” Emma meets her eyes firmly. “No blackouts. No rufies. I wasn’t raped.”

          “Then obviously you’ve been with someone.” Regina concludes, looking away slightly, not wanting Emma to see the pain return to her eyes.

          “No,” Emma’s voice wavers, and her tears come anew. “That’s the problem Regina, I _haven’t_. That’s what I’m trying to tell you. Not with Hook, not even with _Walsh_ and the fuckin’ monkey _proposed_ to me.” She sighs, frustration evident in it as she runs a hand almost violently through her mane of messy blonde hair. “Hell, Regina, I hadn’t had sex with anyone since… since before the curse broke the first time. Not until… our night.”

          Regina closes her eyes, and her heart clenches at those words – ‘ _our night_ ’. But then, how could Emma be pregnant? Without a man it was… Regina’s breath catches in her throat as a thought came to her. A distant memory of a passage in a book from years ago. But if it were true, it would mean… Regina swallows at the thought of Emma being her True Love. Sure, she loves her, but a True Love… something she has thought she will never find after Daniel’s death?

          It is possible, she realizes, as she looks at the lost and confused Emma, and feels her heart yearning for her to comfort her. But to tell Emma like this… She doesn’t want that hanging over them, she doesn’t want Emma to feel obligated like that. So she will tell some of the truth, not all of it.

          “Emma,” Regina begins, and for the first time takes Emma’s hands, the test trapped between them, and she tries to ignore the feeling of electricity running up her fingers and hands and arms at the contact.

          Emma grips right back, holding on like Regina is the last life preserver to save her from drowning.

          “Emma, I think I may be the…” Regina frowns and holds back on the word ‘father’ she was about to use. “the mother, I suppose would be the more accurate term.”

          “What?” Emma’s expression turns adorably confused, and Regina can feel her hands quaking in hers. “What do you mean?”

          Regina sighs, and meets her gaze, which stares hopefully back into her own eyes. “It is not unheard of for two women to produce a child.”

          “Well, in this world there’s in-vitro and all that stuff, but that uses sperm…”

          Regina clears her throat and squeezes Emma’s hands tightly. “And in the Enchanted Forest, there are a few tales of women birthing a child without a father. With magic.”

          Emma looks slightly calmer, but Regina can still feel the returned grip she has on her fingers. “So, what, you have like magic sperm fingers or something?”

          Regina rolls her eyes. “Put as crudely as can be expected from you, perhaps that’s close enough, though without the sperm. Just magic. I do recall our magic flaring together a good deal then,” she says, and to her surprise a flush rises in Emma’s cheeks.

          “True, I remember our hands glowing together a few times, but I was a bit busy during most of it, getting my brains fucked out.”

          Regina’s own blush more than outdoes Emma’s at that.

          “So, you really think you got me pregnant? This isn’t something you’re makin’ up to try to explain it?”

          “No, Miss Swan, I am not making this up,” Regina says, her voice slow and careful. “It is the only somewhat feasible option to explain this, unless you have been less than truthful here about your sexual partners.”

          Emma’s hands pull hers – and thus herself – closer until her chin is in line with her own knee. Emma leans down, her face close and breath hot against Regina’s face. “I _swear_ to you Regina. On Henry. You’re the first… and only person I’ve been with like that since before your curse broke.”

          Regina’s heart feels like it is starting to put itself back together in her chest, and something inside her flutters at the intense look in Emma’s eyes as she stares her down. “Okay,” Regina starts, her voice unsure as she continues the conversation. “Are you… do you plan to keep it?”

          Emma looks startled by the question, but it is one that Regina _needs_ to be sure of the answer to.

          “Of course!” Emma half-shouts, and then falls silent for a few moments as they listen for Henry. “Of course, Regina. I’m not having an abortion if that’s what you’re asking. And I already went through giving up Henry. I’m not doing that again.”

          “Okay,” a hint of relief is in Regina’s voice. “Good. I wanted to be sure…”

          “Do _you_ want this Regina? Will you do this with me?”

          She nods, and raises their entwined hands up to kiss at Emma’s knuckles. “Yes. I won’t let you go through this alone.

          Emma’s eyes close, and she drops her head down onto Regina’s shoulder. “This is nuts, Regina. Magic babies. Like I’m the Virgin Mary or something.”

          Regina’s fingers trail up and down the nape of Emma’s neck, and she relaxes further into her. “Not exactly ‘virgin’,” she teases, “our son is proof of that. But I suppose if you want you’re both Mary and ‘The Savior’.”

          “Ugh, don’t remind me,” Emma chuckles weakly against her shirt.

          Emma’s hands release Regina’s and tentatively grasp her sides, and she slides off the toilet seat to drop to the ground with Regina. “You’re really okay with this?”

          “No,” she says softly, and feels Emma stiffen against her, and holds onto her to keep her there. “This is… frightening. And nothing I ever expected to happen. But we’ll get through this.”

          “We always do best together, huh?” Emma says, and her warm hand is cupping Regina’s cheek.

          “Yes,” Regina wryly says, “No matter how frustrating that has been at times.”

          Regina watches as Emma pulls back further and settles a hand on her stomach, pulling her shirt up to reveal creamy flesh. Regina sets one of her own hands over Emma’s, and the other woman looks up with that grinning puppydog look on her face that twists Regina’s insides in delightful ways.

          “Our baby.” Regina says aloud, knowing the other woman still needs to hear it, knowing what she has gone through in the past, betrayed by Baelfire, living with her pregnancy alone in prison.

          Emma’s smile is sweet, and it is all Regina can do not to kiss her. Emma is apparently of the same mind, leaning forward slightly, and then pulling back.

          “I’d kiss you, but I puked and I don’t think you want to taste that.”

          Regina feels her spirits lift further at that, at Emma’s desire to kiss her, and her hopes for more than just co-parenting another child rise up inside of her heart. If Emma was willing, perhaps she could have _more_ , finally have a truly happy ending.

          “Perhaps later, after you’ve brushed,” Regina allows, feeling warmth bubble in her chest at Emma’s bright smile at those words.

          “We should tell Henry,” Regina strokes a thumb across the back of Emma’s hand as they rest on her stomach. “He was very worried about you.”

          The smile disappears and panic flares on Emma’s face, eyes widening, frown forming. “Can… can we wait? I’d like to go to the doctor first, and make sure everything is healthy and all that. And… maybe work up a bit of courage?”

          Emma’s last words are weak, and hesitant. “I just… we have to explain all this,” she waves her free hand between her stomach and Regina, “and that we were _together_ which is probably going to be mind-scarring enough for the kid, and I… I don’t want him to feel like this is some sort of… replacement.”

          Regina’s eyes soften, and she reaches up to stroke away a sweaty strand of blonde hair from Emma’s forehead. “Like your parents made you feel,” she says knowingly. “I understand, dear. We’ll need to make sure we include him in everything, and that he knows this is his little brother or sister who we will love just as we love him, and not a replacement.”

          She purses her lips, and then nods decisively. “Let’s get you a doctor’s appointment, and plan how to tell him. But soon, Emma. I don’t want to hide this from him for long. I’ve… hidden from him and lied to him in the past for far too long.”

          “Gotcha. Soon then.” Emma says, her eyes fixed on Regina’s face. “We can maybe set up the doctor’s visit tomorrow, and tell him after?”

          “Very well. In the meantime, let’s tell him you’re not feeling well, and I’ll be taking care of you. Would you…. would you like to come to the mansion? At least for the night? I believe I may have something that could help you with your morning sickness.”

          Emma’s eyes widen, and she grabs Regina and kisses her firmly on the cheek. “I would worship you forever if it works, Regina,” she says, eyes reverent. “With Henry it was absolutely awful even past the first trimester, and this time feels like it might be the same.

          Regina’s lips rise into a smirk. “I may take you up on that offer, Miss Swan,” she purrs, and enjoys the sight of Emma’s flushed cheeks. “Clean yourself up, I will get Henry and we can go.”

          “’kay,” Emma says, and brushes Regina toward the door as she grabs a toothbrush that is lying haphazardly on the sink.

          Regina unlocks the door and exits into the hallway. Her eyes scan the walls – the chipped and scuffed paint, the bare baseboards showing along the bottoms of the walls with several shoddily patched sections that suggest a past rodent infestation. The apartments were owned by Rumplestiltskin, as with many buildings in town, and clearly not kept up well. It’s the first time she’s actually been here since Emma moved, and just looking at it she knows that whether or not she and Emma become something more together, she’ll be inviting the woman to move into the mansion in the coming months. This was no place for a child… _their_ child to live.

          Regina knocks on Henry’s door – the only one with a light shining underneath it – and she hears his feet pad over to open it. He doesn’t look as scared as he had when she arrived, instead he looks hopeful and earnest.

          “Is Emma alright?”

          “She will be,” Regina reaches out to brush his hair away from his forehead. “Get your school things together, dear, you’re staying at my place tonight.”

          He starts to turn but then his brow furrows, and his eyes crinkle, and he looks so much like Emma at that moment. “What about Ma?”

          “She is coming as well,” Regina reassures him. “She is simply feeling unwell, and I did not think you should have to take care of her here, so both of you will stay with me. I’ll take care of her there, and you can get your sleep for school tomorrow.”

          She is happy he doesn’t question further, but it is not altogether surprising. She knows that even hearing someone else throw up makes his stomach queasy – and smelling it usually has him joining in himself – so she’s sure he’s more than relieved that he won’t have to help Emma with this.

          She watches him, affection in her gaze, as he bustles about the room, tossing books and notebooks into his backpack. Regina feels a hand settle on her shoulder, and turns to see Emma standing beside her, and she can smell fresh mouthwash on the woman’s breath.

          Emma drops her hand as Henry turns with his arms full of backpack, and greets him with a soft “Hey kid,” and a shaky smile.

          “Feelin’ better?”

          “A little. But we’ll see. You ready to go?”

          He nods, and Regina takes their hands, and whisks them off in a billowing cloud of smoke. They land in the den, and she immediately feels Emma yank her hand almost violently away from hers.

          Before she can turn to see, she hears a choked “Oh, fuck,” and Emma’s quick footsteps out of the room, and into the bathroom for another round of retching.

          “I didn’t think that would make her nausea worse,” Regina says, glancing to Henry who is wrinkling his nose at the sounds.

          “Guess you know now. I’m… gonna go to bed early. Night, Mom, tell Emma I said goodnight too.”

          “Goodnight, sweetheart,” Regina brushes a kiss to his forehead, and then he darts off upstairs as Regina walks to the bathroom, and enters cautiously. Emma is kneeling by the toilet, and Regina moves closer and gathers back her hair, trying to murmur soothingly to the woman as she rubs another hand across her sweaty t-shirt-clad back.

          Finally Emma’s stomach seems to settle, and she rests back on her heels, looking up at Regina with a miserable look to her eyes, her face pale and sweaty. Regina runs a washcloth through the cool water of the faucet, and bends down to dab it across Emma’s face.

          “No more poofing. Not unless my life depends on it.”

          “I would have to agree,” Regina inclines her head and refrains from correcting her on her terminology for the teleportation spell. “I’m sorry, I hadn’t thought it would upset your stomach further.”

          “S’okay.”

          “Come, let’s get you a bit of toast to start replacing what your body has lost today. Just something light and plain to settle your stomach.”

 

-=<=(__)=>=-

          Regina and Emma lounge in the den the next hour or so, after Emma has eaten and kept all of it down. It is surprisingly silent, but not an awkward silence: a peaceful, comfortable silence between them, filled with significant gazes and brushes of hands and feet and legs on the sofa.

          When Emma leans her head against Regina’s shoulder, she welcomes it readily, but it still surprises her when Emma takes Regina’s hand once more and moves it over to rest on her stomach. Emma’s own hand hovers just above hers, and Regina nearly shivers each time one of Emma’s rough fingertips brush against the skin at the back of her hand.

          She sees Emma’s gaze locked on their hands, and rests her chin on the top of Emma’s head. “What are you thinking about?” Regina asks, choosing to be the one to break the silence.

          Emma hums softly, and then parts her lips, pulling her head away from Regina’s shoulder to look up at her. “So much. My mind is racing, and it feels like I’m on a rollercoaster.”

          “I’ll listen if you need to talk.”

          She watches Emma’s face relax before her.

          “Well, I guess I was sorta wondering…” Emma looks back down at her stomach and fully presses her hand against the back of Regina’s. “If magic made this baby… why was it me? Why aren’t you pregnant too?”

          Regina stiffens, feeling like a dagger has slipped through her ribs and straight into her heart. Emma seems to notice and looks up, concerned.

          Regina retracts her hand from Emma’s, and moves it over to her own cloth-covered stomach. “I… it’s not possible for me. I assume our magic sensed that.”

          “You… can’t?” Emma asks gently, as if she can see both Regina’s need to confess something as well as the pain that has kept her from doing so.

          “No,” Regina’s voice quakes, and her eyes clamp shut, lips twisting in a grimace.

          “I can’t,” she continues, determined to tell Emma but hating the forlorn tone of her voice. “I… in the Forest, the king came to my bedchambers often, and he was… usually drunk. And he was not gentle. I carried two of his children, but my womb… both children died long before they could be born.”

Regina sucks in a needed, deep breath. “When I got here, with modern medicine I went to our hospital, to the midwife – I believe she is an OB/GYN in this world, but I have not spoken to her since the curse broke. She says it’s an ‘incompetent cervix’, caused by…” Regina shudders and cannot get her mouth to say it. “And she said that I would likely never safely bear children with the damage. That is when I began to look at adoption, and Henry entered my life.”

Regina feels shaking fingers on her cheeks, wiping at her tears, but when she opens her eyes, she does not see pity in Emma’s face. No, her lips are pressed together tightly and white from the pressure, her eyes are filled with tears but also with fury, and Regina realizes that is what the hands pressing to her cheeks are trembling with.

“He…” Emma’s voice is low, and deadly, something Regina has never even heard directed at herself, even after Henry ate the cursed turnover. “My _grandfather_ , he did that to you? Forced himself on you?”

Regina can’t deny this woman who is sitting there so _fierce_ ,whose green eyes look almost black in the light, and she nods, once.

“ _Fuck_!” One of Emma’s hands leaves Regina’s cheek and runs up through her blonde hair. “If he wasn’t dead now I’d hunt the bastard down and kill him myself,” Emma practically snarls.

Emma lowers her hand once more, and frames Regina’s face in her palms. “My… Snow told me you killed him, but she didn’t tell me any of that. Jesus, Regina, I’m not surprised you did. In my last foster home, the dad… he tried something like that one night. I was lucky one of the kids in the group home taught me how to defend myself. I stabbed the bastard with a pocketknife when he tried… It was probably only his wife coming in when he screamed, and seeing him with his pants down and his hand on my neck that stopped me from going to jail from him telling a bullshit story. I ran away from the group home they put me in after that, and met Neal a while after that.”

“Regina…” Emma is stroking her cheeks with the pads of her thumbs. “Have you ever… told anyone? What he did to you?”

Regina is breathless at the anger and passion being shown on her behalf. It’s something she hasn’t experienced in a very long time. “I’ve talked to Archie,” her voice is quiet. “But that’s it. I imagine Snow has at least an idea. She found me one morning after, and called in a handmaid to tend to my bruises.”

“Damn,” Emma breathes. “As screwed up as naming my brother after Neal is, I’m glad she didn’t go with her original idea of naming him after _him_.”

Emma’s eyes search Regina’s face for a long moment. “And I’m sorry I made you talk about that.”

Regina lowers her gaze, and leans forward until her forehead is resting on Emma’s shoulder. “It’s... I’m glad you asked. I wanted you to know. You needed to know. That’s… that’s how it was, in the forest for many. Arranged marriages are expected to result in an heir, even if one of those involved is… unwilling.”

“I’m glad we don’t live there. I’m glad we’re here, in this world,” Emma says, her chin vibrating as she talks, resting in Regina’s hair.

Regina isn’t sure what to say to that, but Emma doesn’t act as if she expects her to.

“I’ll call the hospital in the morning,” Emma says suddenly, and Regina is relieved at the change in subject and realizes Emma knows she needed it. “Set up an appointment, maybe around lunch or in the afternoon. If you can get off, would you come with me?”

“Just tell me when, and I will,” Regina replies, wetting her lips.

Her ‘job’ is currently as a member of the city council. When it looked as if Snow’s mayorship might run the town into the ground during their struggles against the Snow Queen, Regina had firmly suggested she at least appoint an advising council for the moment. Snow insisted she serve on it, and so now Regina is a council member, at least until real elections for the positions – including the mayoral position – are held in a year’s time.

The job is much simpler than her time as mayor, but it is something to occupy her time. It is also more flexible, and no one will miss her if she slips away for an hour or two.

“Alright,” Emma nods, and sighs deeply. “I think I’m gonna head to bed.”

Regina rises with her, and follows her up the stairs. Emma pauses near Regina’s bedroom door, and looks back at her, a wry smile on her face. “I’ll sleep in the guest room. But maybe… maybe we should talk about, y’know, _us_ tomorrow?”

“We will,” Regina promises, and grabs her hand to squeeze it for a short moment. “Sleep well, I’ll see you in the morning, dear.”

She watches Emma moved down the hall, and stands there at her own door long after Emma enters the guest room. “Please, don’t let me lose her,” Regina whispers, pressing her forehead to her door as fears that have lingered since Daniel creep further into her soul.

-=<=(__)=>=-

-=<=(__)=>=-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Well, at the start of the week I had absolutely no idea I’d be writing this, and here I am with a chapter posted and several chapters in the works. Muses work in mysterious ways I guess, and this fic popped into my head and latched on until I started writing. This is not the Ruby/Emma/Regina fic I mentioned in one of my previous author notes, that one is in planning stages. Right now I’ve got this one, and my DC comics chapter fic (which is fighting with me right now) to work on so expect the RedSwanQueen fic to be arriving more like the first of the year.
> 
> This fic here, I’m expecting about 12 chapters or so, about the length of this one. Just snapshots of Emma’s pregnancy and their lives going on around them in town, and then a little look into their future after. Mostly a lot of fluffy fun stuff without much angst. And yes, you did indeed see a hint of Ruby/Elsa (what is that, FrozenWolf? Is that the ship name? Is it even a ship, or did I just invent a ship?), and we’ll see a bit more of them in future chapters – I think they’d be dang cute together.
> 
> Hope you liked this chapter, let me know what you thought, and I’ll see y’all next time.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon A Time or any related characters. They all belong to Disney/ABC and their affiliated partners. I write this only for my enjoyment (and hopefully yours).
> 
> A/N: Alright, I was gonna wait until Wednesday for posting this but I got my Beta to rush this because I think all of SWEN needs emergency first aid after that episode last night. 
> 
> Hopefully this is a much happier thing to think about here for all of my SWEN Friends: there’s the first doctor/hospital visit and then THE Talk between Emma and Regina. Thank you a ton for all the great feedback from last chapter, I’m glad you all seem to be enjoying the story.

-=<=(__)=>=-

** Chapter 2 **

-=<=(__)=>=-

**_November 10_ **

          Emma wakes to a roiling stomach the next morning, and spends a good ten minutes hovering near and over the toilet. She uses a towel to mop up the sweat on her forehead, and splashes cool water on her face after her stomach stills enough to move about.

          By the time she goes downstairs, she can already hear Regina in the kitchen and she’s not sure if the woman is up and about by choice, or if her noisiness in the guest bathroom woke her. She walks down to the kitchen, and stops in the doorway when she sees Regina – wearing a long, furry black robe cinched tightly around her waist – walking around the kitchen, checking the heat of a pot on the stove, and stirring up scrambled eggs in a pan.

          She takes a step into the room, and that’s all it takes for Regina to see the movement and look her way. The raven-haired woman smiles in welcome to her, and sets down her spatula.

          “Good morning, dear. Still nauseous?”

          Emma nods, and sits down at the table, her chin in her hand, and she knows she looks miserable. Regina takes out a strainer and uses it to strain the pot she was heating, and pours the liquid into a coffee mug. She picks it up by the handle, and walks it over, setting it in front of Emma.

          Emma looks into the cup warily, seeing it is filled with a yellowish-brown liquid.

          “Ginger tea,” Regina explains, having left the table and returned with her hands full. “It was a common drink for those with morning sickness. It doesn’t always help, but it worked for me.”

           Regina sets down a small plate with several slices of lemon on it, a shaker of ground cinnamon, and a little bear-shaped squeezable honey container. “I wasn’t sure what you’d like, but all three go with it rather well, and can also help with nausea somewhat.”

Emma smiles, and hopes her gratitude shines through, because she can feel it’s a rather weak attempt at one, her dry lips sticking against one another. “Thanks.”

           She takes a careful sip as Regina walks back to the stove, but she knows the other woman is taking the occasional glance back toward her. Emma winces slightly at the spicy, tangy flavor of the tea, and sets about experimenting with all three of the ingredients – a squeeze of lemon, a dash of cinnamon, a sizeable dollop of honey – until the taste is more pleasant.

           She sips slowly at the warm tea, and Regina comes over with a plate of scrambled eggs and buttered toast that she places in the center of the table – an invitation but not an expectation. By the time Henry’s footsteps are audible upstairs as he moves about, Emma has finished half of the cup, and is chewing on a piece of toast with a few bits of eggs strewn atop it.

           Emma looks back up toward Regina who is making more food – for Henry and likely herself – and catches the older woman glancing over at her. Emma nods to her, and takes another sip to wash down her mouthful. “It’s definitely helping. Only a little bit of nausea, and that I can handle.”

          The smile that spreads across Regina’s purple-red painted lips is beautiful, and Emma hopes she’ll see it again. _‘And again and again and again if I can._ ’

          Regina’s cocoa-colored eyes sparkle for a moment, and she glances toward the entrance of the kitchen and then back. “So, how will you be worshiping me, Miss Swan?”

           Emma feels her cheeks heat up – unsure if it is from the reminder of her words the other day, the implication Regina seems to be making about them, the purr in Regina’s voice as she says ‘Miss Swan’, or all of the above. She manages to swallow, and tries to hide a goofy grin behind her cup.

          “I don’t know, Your Majesty, I suppose you’ll have to wait and see,” Emma finally manages, feeling like a dork as she winks, but it’s more than worth it when she sees Regina’s olive skin darken in her own blush, and the heated, heavy look the woman gives her after. That look she’s seen before, as Regina pinned her to the wall and fumbled with the button of her pants. She hasn’t been able to get Regina out of her mind since that night, not even with the distraction of helping Elsa or defeating Ingrid.

          Likely the only thing that keeps Emma from standing up and striding over there to kiss Regina silly – other than the fact that she knows they need to talk first before anything like that happens – is Henry’s sudden arrival in the kitchen.

          His eyes light up upon seeing her, and he is by her side in an instant, and it’s moments like this that she still feels a pain in her heart at the thought of missing out on this for so long; but then he would not be the wonderful person he is today without Regina raising him, and that makes it hurt less.

          “Hey Ma, feelin’ better?”

          “A little,” she says around a half-chewed mouthful of toast, and she knows Regina is giving her a disapproving look without even having to glance out of the corner of her eye.

          She swallows it down quickly, and smiles up at Henry as he stays standing next to her. “Regina gave me some tea that’s helping a lot. I’ll probably still call in a sick day at the office and take a break today, but I’ll be fine.”

          Henry hugs her, and then sits down next to her, a still slightly sleepy look on his face even though he is already dressed for school. She watches as he thanks Regina for the plate she sets in front of him along with a cup of orange juice, and then digs into his eggs and toast and turkey bacon that has been crumbled up over the top of his eggs.

          “Hey kid, need one of us to pick you up after school?” Emma knows she’s terrible at remembering a schedule, and the one she has written out on a calendar is back at her apartment.

          “No, I’m good. It’s one of my afternoons to work at the shop.”

          “Ah,” Emma hides a frown, she still is uneasy at the reminder that he is working at Gold’s shop, but it is something she has come to terms with. Even with the times Rumplestiltskin has helped them and the town still doesn’t make her feel any less in need of a shower after spending time around him. It’s only the fact that he was Neal’s father, and Henry’s grandfather that dulls her unease a bit. That and she trusts Belle enough to look out for Henry.

          “Alright, give a text when you’re done, I’ll pick you up,” Emma says around another long sip of the tea.

          “Perhaps I could make dinner for us tonight,” Regina suggests from across the table where she has taken a seat and begun on her own breakfast.

          “All’ve us?” Henry looks up to his mother, and then swallows the mouthful of food. “Sorry. All of us?”

          “Yes, if Emma is feeling up to it.” Regina casts a careful glance across the table to her.

          At Emma’s nod, Henry grins widely. “Awesome. Sounds good, Mom.”

          Emma grabs a second piece of toasts and nibbles at it, watching Regina and Henry eat. Most of her focus is on Regina, and the way her lips move as she chews, but enough is on Henry that she notices him nearly finished, toying with his fork. He has a thoughtful look on his face, one that becomes more serious as she watches.

          “What’s up, kid?” Emma finally asks, breaking him out of his thoughts.

          “Oh… I was just thinking. Um, Wednesday is auditions for our Christmas play at school, and I was thinking of trying out for one of the big parts.”

          “That’s wonderful, Henry. What are they doing this year?” Regina places a hand on his arm, a proud smile on her lips.

          “A Christmas Carol. I want to try out for Bob Cratchit and Marley and hopefully get one of them. D’you think I should?”

          “I think you will do well at either of them. You should at least do the try-out and see if they give you a part,” Regina lifts a hand to stroke at his messy hair as he eats the last few forkfuls of food on his plate.

          “Sounds like fun, Henry. Didn’t realize you were into that,” Emma comments softly.

          “Yeah, I’ve always kinda been. Mostly just minor parts, but the last few years…” he pauses, likely realizing they hadn’t done it in New York during their year with their changed memories. “I’ve gotten some secondary character parts with a few more lines, but I’ve never tried for a main part before.”

          He must see something visible on her face that she doesn’t mean to show, her sadness that she hadn’t known this about him, because he reaches out and grabs her hand. “Mom brought her camcorder to all of my plays, and we’ve got the tapes around here somewhere.” He glances at Regina for a moment. “Maybe she can find them and we can watch them all sometime.”

          Regina smiles softly at the two of them, and nods. “I’ll dig them out. Perhaps we can start our Friday movie nights again and Miss Swan can join us and we can watch them there.”

          Henry beams, and Emma chuckles softly. “I think that’d be nice.”

          “Alright,” Henry stands, carrying his plate and empty cup to the sink. “Gotta get my backpack. Mom, are you driving me?”

          “Yes, I’ll be ready in a moment,” Regina calls over her shoulder to him, brushing crumbs from her toast off her hands and onto her plate.

          Henry rushes across the room toward the kitchen entrance, but stops suddenly and glances back. “Y’know, I like this. When you guys are getting along and not fighting… when you’re hanging out with me like this,” he says shyly, and dashes off before either women can say anything.

          Regina studies her hands when Emma turns to look at her across the table, but Emma sees her gaze dart up.

          “He’s got a point. We’re definitely talking today, alright Regina?”

          Regina nods once, and takes her own dishes over to the sink.

          “I’ll call the office and tell them I won’t be in, and then try to set up an appointment for this afternoon.” Emma continues after slurping the rest of the tea in her cup.

          Regina strides back to the table, pot in hand, and refills Emma’s cup with the remaining liquid that she has been keeping warm on the burner. “Text me with the time when you’ve set it up and I’ll be there.”

          “Will do,” Emma sketches her a sloppy mock salute that has Regina rolling her eyes when the woman heads upstairs to change into her work clothes.

          It’s only minutes until both Regina and Henry are out the door and Emma can hear Regina’s engine start up as she fishes her phone out of her pocket.

          After a short call to the station – answered by Mulan who has taken a Deputy position in the last few weeks – informing them she’s taking a sick day, Emma looks up the hospital phone number. She dials it, leg bouncing up and down out of habit, and listens to the line ring several times before a cheery voice answers.

          “ _Hello, Storybrooke Hospital, this is Melody, what can I do for you?_ ”

          “Hey, um…” Emma wishes she had thought through what to say before she called. “I’d like to set up an appointment, preferably for today?”

          “ _Alright, we can probably do that. What is the reason for your appointment?_ ”

          “This is like, patient privilege stuff now, right?” Emma asks nervously – the last thing she needs right now are rumors circulating around town before she can start mending things with Regina or even wrapping her mind fully around what is happening.

          “ _Of course, Ma’am_ ,” Melody’s voice assures her. “ _Anything you say to me now is confidential._ ”

Emma sighs. “Pregnancy then. I mean, I took several tests and they were positive, and I’d like to set up my first prenatal visit or whatever they’re called.”

          She hears clicking of a keyboard as fingers tap on the keys, and then the woman speaks again. “ _Alright, it looks like there’s an opening at two-thirty that we could see you in. Do we have your files in our records? And may I ask your name to put into the schedule?_ ”

          “Uh, Emma Swan. And no, I don’t think you guys have any of my records. I don’t really have any actually.”

          “ _Oh_!” Melody is silent for a long moment. “ _Sherriff, of course. Would any doctors in… Boston, wasn’t it? Would they have any records we could get them to fax?”_

          “Nah, I never really went to a doctor in the past, at least not since I was a teenager, and I don’t really remember any names.” She’s gone to an urgent care clinic or two for stitches in the past, but that’s about the closest she’s been to a doctor’s office for over a decade. Not since her last after-birth checkup after Henry and shortly before leaving jail, now that she thinks about it.

          “ _That’s alright. Okay, your appointment is at two-thirty, if that works for you, and I’d recommend coming in around two so you can fill out paperwork for our records, and give us as much of your medical history as you can remember. Does that sound good?_ ’

          “Yeah, two-thirty works. Thanks… Melody was it?”

          “ _Yes, it’s Melody_. _We’ll see you this afternoon then, Sherriff. Stop by the front desk and they’ll have you check in and direct you to where you need to go_.”

          “Alright, thanks, bye.”

          Emma takes in a deep breath, and sips at her tea for a few minutes as she tries not to feel nervous. She glances at her phone, and decides Regina has dropped Henry off by now. She texts her with the appointment time, but doesn’t tell her to be there a half-hour early like she will be, not wanting her to leave work only to have to sit there as Emma fills out paperwork.

          She drinks the last of her tea, and as she places it in the sink, her phone vibrates, and the message reads, ~ _See you then, dear_ ~, and some of Emma's nerves flee, and she walks out of the kitchen with a hint of a smile on her face.

-=<=(__)=>=-

          The extra half-hour turns out to be quite needed. She is sitting in an uncomfortable chair on the third floor of the hospital, and has been filling out form after form, and racking her brain for her past medical history for the entire thirty minutes. If Regina were here she’s sure she’d be commenting to her about how the hospital is ensuring a second visit by inflicting their patients with carpal tunnel with all these forms, to which Regina would likely chuckle or roll her eyes.

          But Regina isn’t there, not even at five minutes after the appointment time she’d sent to her, while the previous appointments are running late and pushing everyone else’s later and later. Emma feels like acid is gnawing at her insides every second that goes by, and she fears Regina has changed her mind and won’t be coming, which then turns into further dread that perhaps Regina has rethought the entire thing, and is having second thoughts about being there throughout the pregnancy. Because that’s what she is used to, that’s how she has grown up, with people not keeping their word, promises being broken like tissue paper or made without the intent to ever keep them.

          It is only when the nurse calls her name at seven minutes after the scheduled appointment time, as she starts to follow her back toward one of the exam rooms with a heavy heart, that Regina appears. Emma hears the clicking of high heels, fast on the hospital floor, and Regina rounds the corner with wind-swept hair and wrinkled blouse, her cheeks flushed and her chest heaving, and Emma knows she ran to be here, probably even up the stairs if the elevator wasn’t on the ground floor.

          Emma waves, almost shy when Regina sees her and strides quickly over to her side, and all the tension filling her body bleeds out of her when Regina’s shoulder bumps into hers. The nurse gives them both a look, and when she realizes Regina is coming with Emma, leads them into a room and leaves them inside with a hospital gown for Emma and a promise that a doctor will be by shortly.

          “I’m sorry,” Regina starts, as she tries to catch her breath, and takes a seat to pull off her high heels and rub at her feet. “My meeting with Kathryn took longer than I thought, and then your mother decided to show up as I was about to leave, and ending a conversation with her while she’s ranting about the snow-removal budget is not easy, and it’s even harder not cry with laughter while listening to Snow talk about a snow-removal budget. And then some idiot almost took off my bumper on the way here.”

          Emma smiles easily, and watches the other woman ramble – a unique change of roles – and her eyes follow a few beads of sweat as they roll off of Regina’s forehead, down and under her shirt collar, and Emma clenches her hands at the feeling that causes inside of her.

          “It’s fine, Regina,” she finally interrupts, trying to ignore the heat pooling in her belly when Regina looks up at her from the chair. “You’re here. You made it. I’m… not used to people showing up for me,” she admits. “So it doesn’t matter that you were late, just that you’re here. For me.”

          Regina’s eyes widen, and then her face shifts in understanding. She reaches out a hand to squeeze Emma’s clammy ones. “I’m here – for you,” she agrees firmly.

          Emma smiles, and lets go of her hand, turning so she can grab her gown, but more so that Regina doesn’t see the tear slip down her cheek. She dresses quickly in the gown – unsure when the doctor will enter – and with little shame given how much of her body Regina has already seen, on a far more close-up basis.      

          Emma turns and sits down on the examining table, any sign of her tear wiped away deliberately when she took off her shirt. She smiles nervously at Regina, and her legs dangle and kick as they wait. “Slow day for me,” Emma breaks their silence. “Just sat around, looked at some websites for pregnancies, that sort of stuff. And I’ve been here thirty minutes filling out a shit-ton of paperwork. I’m pretty sure I’m complicit in the death of two trees.”

          Regina chuckles and leans forward, elbows on her knees, and when Emma sees the woman’s hands clasped together, fingers twisting at her ever-present ring, Emma knows the dark-haired woman is just as nervous as she is.

          “Your tea worked, at least so far. No more barfing since I woke up. Hopefully it lasts the rest of the day.”

          Regina’s smile is bright at that. “I’m glad that worked for you too. Eating several small meals during the day instead of just a big lunch and supper helped as well, I found.” She raises an eyebrow to Emma. “We’ll have to work on your nutrition as well, so you’re eating healthier. I don’t want our baby born with an addiction to bear claws.”

          Emma snorts, and grins. “Guess you’ll just have to become my chef for the next few months, because I’m crap at cooking.”

          She looks pleasantly surprised. “Actually, I-“

          She breaks off as the door opens, and Doctor Whale enters the room, eyes fixed on a the chart that the nurse left outside the door when she left them. His jaw drops slightly in surprise when he looks up and sees Regina in the room along with her.

          “Regina,” he says coolly, “What a… pleasant… surprise. Are you pestering my patient?”

          “She’s here with me,” Emma cuts in, staring him down when he looks at her.

          “I… see. The normal doctor is overbooked at the moment so she has passed off some of the simpler patients to me, which includes you, Sherriff. You’ve confirmed your pregnancy with several tests, I assume?”

          “Yeah,” Emma sighs, and hopes that he at least has enough professional attitude in him to not go spreading her visit through the gossip circles of Storybrooke. “Four, all different brands and different types. All of them were positive.”

          Whale’s eyebrows furrowed, and he made a note of that on the chart. “Okay, Sherriff, in that case there’s little doubt you are pregnant, though we always run a lab test on your blood samples anyways. According to the information you provided it’s been about six weeks since your last period?”

          She nods, and he glances back at the paper. “Alright, at this point there isn’t much to do, other than start some blood tests, and schedule you to come back in two weeks for a more comprehensive prenatal exam. For that you’ll schedule with one of the OB/GYNs here, and they’ll be your regular doctor.”

          He looks further down the paper. “Our visit here should be quick – it looks like you need a basic physical because it has been some time since you’ve been to a doctor, and then we’ll draw some blood, and you can be on your way.”

          The next few minutes consist of Regina glowering at Whale as he pokes and prods Emma, listens to her heartbeat and breathing, checks her reflexes, and records her height and weight.

          The blood draw that follows only hurts a little, and he fills up two containers with her blood, explaining as he does so when she asks about the amount he’s taking. “Normally there would just be one but this is both for the prenatal tests and for your physical so we need a bit more. The prenatal results will be discussed with you by your OB/GYN on your next visit. Basic things like Rh factor, blood type, blood count, HIV and Hep B screening, those types of things. The rest of the tests for you physical will be your cholesterol levels, blood sugar, those sorts of things.”

          He hesitates, looking down at her lap when he is done labeling the blood samples, and then glances at Regina and back to Emma. “I’ll leave the… genital exam for your OB/GYN, I suppose.”

          “Damn right you will,” Emma growls out. No way is he getting a look up her hospital gown. It’s already creepy enough having his eyes all over her throughout the physical.

          Whale clears his throat, and nods. “I’d suggest getting on a prenatal vitamin as soon as you can.” He walks over to the wall and grabs a brochure that is hanging there with others in clear mounted half-boxes, and hands it to Emma. “This has some suggestions on what the makeup should be. Omega-3s are also important and usually not in those vitamins, so either get them in what you eat, or take supplements. And, I’m sure you already know, but no smoking or drinking.”

          “Yeah,” Emma grunts, eyes skimming over the contents of the brochure.

          “Unless you have any more questions, we should be done here. I’ll let you talk to the nurse at the desk on this floor to set up an appointment with one of our OB/GYNs for the rest of your prenatal checkups.”

          “We’re good,” Emma glances to Regina, and then focuses on Whale as he turns toward the door. “Oh, and Whale? If you tell anyone about my being pregnant before I’m ready to tell everyone, it won’t be pretty for you. Got it?”

          She sees his cheeks pale slightly and then flush with anger, but he grits out. “Got it.”

          Emma shakes her head as he leaves – he might be a pretty good doctor, but the man was a complete sleazeball. She hops down, enjoying the grin dancing across Regina’s lips at how she handled Whale, and passes her the brochure to hold while she changes back into her clothes.

          A stop a few minutes later down the hall at the front desk sees her co-pay settled and insurance billed, and she sets up an appointment for the Monday of Thanksgiving week. She’s given several options, but she goes with the name Regina murmurs next to her, of Doctor Augusta Trot, who Emma assumes is the person Regina mentioned the previous day of seeing in her own visit years ago.

          She walks out of the hospital beside Regina, their hands brushing from time to time. “So,” she says, chewing at her lower lip when they near Regina’s car. “Henry’s not going to be around until tonight. You up for that talk?”

          Regina tilts her head and touches Emma’s shoulder. “Get your car and follow me. I know a nice place by the coast where we can talk.”

-=<=(__)=>=-

          Regina’s ‘place’ is indeed quite nice, Emma admits. It’s right along the ocean, up a short walk through the forest surrounding Storybrooke. A bench roughly hewn out of a log rests at the top of a beach and just inside the treeline, which provides some shelter from the cold winter wind, but it is still close enough that they can watch the waves crash against the shore.

          Many of the trees are without leaves, but amongst them are several evergreens, providing a bit of color to the surrounding winter forest. “It’s beautiful out here,” Emma says, her hand having found and held onto Regina’s since the beginning of their hike with no complaint from the other woman.

          Regina sits down first, her grip on Emma’s hand pulling her down onto the rough bench next to her. “It is. Even more so in the spring, when all of the trees around us are in bloom. Though I think I’m particular to fall when everything is a mix of green, yellow, and orange.”

          Emma looks around, and though she’s never been here before, she can already picture it. And picture coming back here to experience those seasons with Regina.

          “So….” Emma trails the word off.

          “Time to talk?”

          “Yeah. Listen, Regina… I should have come to you and talked sooner. After that night… you deserved that at least. But I kept finding excuses to avoid it because, shit, this thing between us is so damn scary and intimidating at times.”

          Regina turns, facing her fully on the bench, concern bleeding from her expression. “I… scare you?”

          “No, no no,” Emma waves her free hand while shaking her head, her blonde hair whipping against the wind with each movement. “ _You_ don’t scare me Regina. This… this thing between us, even before this got complicated even more with a baby. This thing, _that’s_ what scared me, and I was an idiot and kept running from it like I always seem to do.”

          Emma looks down, stroking her thumb across Regina’s knuckles, and takes a heavy breath. “The way I feel… I’ve never felt before. _Ever_.” She knocks the knuckles of her hand against her own chest, hard enough that it hurts more than it already does inside. “I feel it here, so deep inside that it’s crazy. It sucks me in and I can hardly breathe because I want to be there for you, and be everything you need, even if I’m not sure I can be, or not sure I won’t screw this up somehow. So I’m sorry I ran from this until now and I’m sorry if I hurt you by doing that. And I don’t want you to think I’m doing this because of the baby or anything, because it’s not. The baby has… I guess just given me a little bit more courage that I needed, but this is something I’ve _wanted_ to say to you since that night.”

          Regina’s silence after Emma falls quiet herself is long and terrifying until Emma can’t stand it. “Please,” Emma can hear her voice choking in her own throat. “Say something, Regina. Even if you just want to tell me I’m an idiot and you don’t feel the same.”

          She hears Regina’s soft breath stagger through her nose, and feels the warm squeeze of Regina’s hand against hers, and then Regina’s other hand is pressing down on the opposite side, enclosing hers completely between them.

          “You _are_ an idiot. But not for _that_ , Emma. I am too. We both ran, and we were both scared.” Regina looks up, and Emma sucks in a shaking breath at the raw emotion in her brown eyes. “Emma, I’ve told you about Daniel, haven’t I?”

          Emma nods, lowering her gaze to the woman’s hand, where she knows Daniel’s ring once was, and now only her emerald ring rests on one finger. “He was your True Love.”

          “Yes, I believe he was. And… when I’m around you, and especially that night we shared together, I feel… alive again. Like I’ve woken up from a nightmare that’s lasted for years and everything is bright and in focus around me. It’s been so long that my heart has been empty, missing a piece, a hole I could never fill. But you’re starting to fill it, Emma Swan.” She shakes her head. “Sometimes I still can’t believe it. Of all the people it could be, it’s you. Tink tells me her damned pixie dust says Robin is my soul mate, but nothing with him was like what it is like to be with you.”

          Regina reaches up, to brush her own dark hair back from her face when the wind insists on continuing to blow them there.

          “That’s what scared me the most, Emma. It’s not the fact that I’m pretty sure I’m falling in love with you,” When Regina says this, Emma grips the older woman’s hand so tight she thinks she might break it if she holds on too long, but Regina continues as if it’s not even happening.

          “It’s that people I love, the things I love, always get torn away from me, and I can’t… can’t let that happen with you. And if you were anyone else I wouldn’t want to take that chance. But I thought I was going to lose Henry to you, only to find you’ve brought him closer to me than I ever could hope for instead of ripping him away from me, and maybe you can do the same with yourself. Maybe Henry is right, and a happy ending really can happen for me.”

          Emma can barely feel the tears on her cheeks, only the wind stinging against the wetness lets her know they’re there, and tears are on Regina’s cheeks too, and she can’t help but lean forward, to reach up with her other hand to pull at the back of Regina’s neck. And then their foreheads are resting against one another, noses nearly touching.

          “I’m willing to give us a chance, Regina. And I’m pretty sure I’m falling in love with you too. For you, I’ll stop running if you ask me to. And I’ll stay, and I won’t let anyone rip Henry or me away from you.”

          Regina makes a sound like a sigh and a soft sob, and her hands reach up to clutch at Emma’s shoulders, nails scraping at the soft leather of her jacket. “Stop running then, Emma. I need you. I’m… so broken that I don’t know if I can ever be fixed, but I think if anyone would have a chance it’s you… But I don’t want this to be just… just _fucking_ ,” it gives Emma warm shivers every time Regina – prim and proper Regina who scolds her for her language – uses that word.   “As much as I enjoyed that, I want to take this – take us – slow. I want to do this right.”

          “I do too… and I’m up for the challenge of fixing you because I think you deserve to be fixed and because I’m not all that unbroken myself,” Emma confesses softly, her hand rising to cup her palm to Regina’s cheek. “So, Regina, will you be my girlfriend?”

          She’s startled for a moment when a giggle escapes Regina, but the surprise is gone when she feels Regina’s fingers dig into her shoulders, and sees lopsided grin on Regina’s face. “Never tell anyone you just heard that, Miss Swan. And yes, I would love to be your girlfriend.”

         “Don’t worry,” glinting green eyes meet Regina’s brown. “I’ll be keeping that very much to myself, and making it my goal to hear it again.”

Emma leans in and kisses her once, softly, and they can taste the salty tang of their tears dancing together between their lips as the ocean wind whips their hair around their faces.

-=<=(__)=>=-

-=<=(__)=>=-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hope you enjoyed!  
> Ugh, that episode last night. “Powers are acting up, let’s go to Rumplefuckingstiltskin instead of the woman who has worked magic with me numerous times and trained me” *facepalm* And Hooks heart being pure red? Bullcrap. 
> 
> Outlaw Queen makes me physically ill to watch it now. And I really just can’t even with this show – how do they massacre Regina’s character in her Robin scenes and then later in the episode show exactly what this show should BE about with her scene with Henry talking about Emma, and when she takes Snow and Charming to task for their attitude toward Emma? It’s like A&E outsourced the writing this season to a chimpanzee enclosure at the zoo and there’s like one intelligent Chimp who likes Swan-Mills Family and SQ, who manages to slip a few things in amongst the gibberish his fellow chimps are producing. (and then the second hour Emma is making beautiful gay rainbow magic with Elsa, and makes fireworks the exact same colors as her and Regina’s magic when they stopped the failsafe device– seriously, one single intelligent chimp amongst a bunch of idiots) 
> 
> Anyway, rant over, that episode made me even more determined to work on this fic. Next chapter will probably be out by the end of the week, and the 4th chapter should be a Thanksgiving-themed chapter so hopefully up the day of Thanksgiving if not the day before.
> 
> See you guys next time, let me know what you thought!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon A Time or any related characters. They all belong to Disney/ABC and their affiliated partners. I write this only for my enjoyment (and hopefully yours).
> 
> A/N: Hey there folks, thanks for all the awesome feedback last chapter. This chapter, lots more Swann-Mills family and SwanQueen fluff, and Henry learns he’s going to be a brother. Enjoy!

-=<=(__)=>=-

** Chapter 3 **

-=<=(__)=>=-

**_November 17_ **

          They nearly tell Henry then. It’s been a week since Emma’s first visit to the hospital, and a small part of Regina is scared if they keep it from him too long he’ll think they were lying to him. After her lies to him had damaged her relationship with him so much, she didn’t want that happening again. They hadn’t found time the week before, between Henry’s work and his tryouts, and her own job and several evening shifts for Emma – something Emma has promised to end from now on to focus on her health for the baby, but it had already been scheduled.

And then Friday was their movie night, and she had sat with Henry and Emma watching one of the tapes of Henry’s school plays she had brought out of where she stored them. They’d decided to start from the beginning, and the earliest video she had was from his Kindergarten play. It had been ‘ _Old MacDonald’s Farm’_ , and Henry had been thoroughly embarrassed at the sight of his tiny little self dressed up in the duck costume Regina had painstakingly sewn by hand for him.

Emma, on the other hand, had spent the night with moist eyes and an oft-quivering lower lip, seeing something she’d missed out on with Henry, and Regina didn’t have the heart to push her to tell Henry then.

But over the weekend, while Henry is spending some quality ‘grandparent time’ with Snow and David, they’ve agreed to tell him tonight, but nowhe bursts into the house with so much excitement on his face.

“Mom! Ma! Guess what?” He says breathlessly, and doesn’t wait for them to even guess. “They posted all the parts today, I’m gonna be Bob Cratchit!”

He tosses his bag into a chair with a thump that Regina would scold him for any other time, but she hasn’t seen this much joy in his face for so long, especially after Neverland. He digs through the backpack, and pulls out what looks like a thin paperback book, and thrusts it toward them, and Regina spots the title of the play printed on the front.

“That’s wonderful, Henry,” Regina smiles, taking the booklet and looking through the first few pages which show the cast listing and the first lines and directions for the play.

“Yeah, good job, kid. Can’t wait to see it.” Emma musses with his hair as so often does, and when she looks up, at Regina, a silent message passes between them in their lingering look, and they both know that they’ll be putting off their telling him about the baby to another night because this one is all for Henry and his own announcement.

“Thanks, I think it’ll be fun. Nicholas is gonna be Scrooge,” it takes Regina a moment to place the name – Hansel in their old world, one of Henry’s closest friends as of his return to school here in Storybrooke. “Oh, and I’ll probably need a costume,” Henry says, ducking out from under Emma’s hand to look at Regina.

She smiles, and hands the book back to him. “We’ll start thinking of ideas and I’ll work on it when we figure something out, alright sweetheart?”

“Thanks. Hey, Mom, can I borrow one of your highlighters? We’re supposed to go through the book and highlight all our lines to help us memorize them.”

“Of course, they’re in the top left drawer of my desk. But you can do that after dinner. Which is almost ready now, so please wash your hands and help Emma set the table.”

He puts his booklet away and carries his bookbag out of the kitchen, and Emma moves closer to her, pressing a brief kiss to Regina’s forehead just below her hairline.

That has been the other thing on her mind this week – her budding relationship with Emma Swan. While their week was hectic, they had found time to spend together over the weekend while Henry was with his grandparents. Enough to spend talking quietly in the den while the news was on, and enough for a dinner on both nights.

The first of those, Regina had cooked – a succulent beef roast with red and yellow potatoes – but the next night, last night, Emma had surprised her by expressing a desire to learn how to cook. So they had cooked together, and that had made the evening even better while sharing the space of the kitchen as they made eggplant parmesan, and the lingering kisses shared afterward on the couch.

“Not telling him tonight?” Emma asks, interrupting her remembrance with a knowing tone.

“No, this is his night. Later this week.”

“I’ve got dinner with my parents tomorrow, and I think Henry’s practices will be starting up on Wednesday since he got a part. How about Thursday night? He doesn’t have work, and I don’t think either of us do,” Emma says, tapping her fingers on the countertop – something Regina has noticed she does often when deep in thought.

“Thursday then,” Regina murmurs as Henry enters the room once again and joins them, reaching into the silverware drawer to hand Emma their utensils to put on the table.

They settle down at the table for supper once it is set – a hearty vegetable soup alongside a beef tenderloin that lay on a bed of asparagus that Regina roasted in the oven.

“Hey, Moms?” Henry asks partway through the meal, looking slightly nervous. “Are we planning anything for Thanksgiving?”

“Nothing in particular, I don’t think,” Regina says, glancing at Emma who shrugs back.

“Alright, well, Grams and Gramps talked to me yesterday, and it sounds like they want to have a big thanksgiving dinner at their place, and wanted to know if we had any plans. I told them I’d ask…” He looks sheepishly to Regina. “I wasn’t sure if you’d want to anyway.”

Regina lowers her gaze to her plate for a moment, fingers fidgeting, and with a glance toward Emma she sees the woman looking at her with a mixture of curiosity and hope.

“I… suppose we could go over there for Thanksgiving. If that’s what you’d like, I would be fine with going.”

Henry looks toward Emma then, and she nods to him. “Sure, Henry. Tell them the three of us will be there if you talk to them first. Thanksgiving with family, right?”

Regina can barely taste the rest of supper after that, the warmth in her chest making her almost giddy.

-=<=(__)=>=-

**_November 20_ **

“Henry,” Regina’s voice stops him from heading upstairs when he starts to head up to his room to finish his homework

“Yeah Mom?” He asks, his eyes darting from her to Emma where they stood in the hall just outside the den.

“Come, dear, we need to talk about something with you,” Regina enters the den first, followed by Emma and a somewhat reluctant Henry.

Emma sits on the couch next to her, and Henry takes a seat across from them, looking at them with a mix of nervousness and puzzlement.

“Am… am I in trouble?”

Regina tries to hide a grin at the way he is squirming in his seat, and then puts him out of his misery. “No, dear, you’re not in trouble. Emma and I want to discuss something important with you.”

“Unless you want to confess to something?” Emma tries to break the suddenly serious mood in the room with an exaggerated wink, and succeeds.

“Nope! So… what’d you guys want to talk about?” Henry leans forward in his seat.

Emma glances at her, and Regina can see the panic in her eyes building up again, so she reaches out to rest a hand on top of hers.

Henry frowns and cocks his head to the side, looking for all the world like both Emma and herself at the same time. “Um, is this about me seeing you two kissing in the kitchen on Friday when you were getting our popcorn?”

Regina’s eyes widen, and she’s sure Emma’s jaw is hanging low. “I… no, sweetheart, we didn’t realize you saw…”

“Oh.” Henry shrugs, and looks down toward their hands. “Well, I saw it. It’s okay I guess, as long as you don’t like slobber all over each other in front of me all the time. Are you dating?”

Regina looks to Emma, who smiles shakily back at her, and she knows whatever the blonde had prepared for, this was the opposite. “Yes, Henry, we’re dating,” Regina says, seeing Emma needs a moment or two. “But not publicly yet… we’d like to spend more time together before we tell anyone.”

Henry chews his bottom lip for a long moment, and then nods. “People might say stuff in town, and not like it?” he asks knowingly, and his nose wrinkles. “That’s stupid, but some probably will.”

“We’d like to be a bit more… stable I guess?” Emma finally says, “before we do that. But I’m glad you’re okay with it.”

“Of course I am,” Henry snorts, “it makes sense. You’re still the Savior, and Mom still needs a happy ending. And I was starting to think you guys secretly liked each other. And…both of my moms together, we’ll be like totally whole family.”

Emma smiles easily, and twines her fingers in Regina’s. “Don’t get too far ahead of yourself, kid. But… we’re hoping for at least a somewhat happy ending.”

Regina swallows heavily, blinking back tears, taking in the pleased face of her son.

“I hope so too,” he says, and darts off of his seat to put his arms around both of their necks in a hug. “So, if you didn’t know I saw you guys, what was it you wanted to talk about?”

Regina watches Emma grab his hand, and the next moment he’s pulled own between them, as Emma shifts their entwined hands behind him.

“Alright Henry,” Emma says, and Regina’s fingers bear the brunt of her nerves. “Well, I guess we were technically gonna tell you about us dating, but this is a little bigger than that. I’m pregnant. With a baby. Which, was sorta redundant to say. Please shut me up, Regina.”

Regina reaches across Henry and presses her palm to Emma’s jaw, pushing it up, before she glances down at Henry who has an unreadable expression in his eyes.

“You’re pregnant?” Henry says slowly, more a statement than a question. “So, I’m gonna have a little brother or sister?”

“Yes, Henry,” Regina’s hand leaves Emma’s jaw to drop down and stroke her son’s cheek. “You’ll be a big brother.”

“That’s…. pretty awesome!” Henry’s face splits into a grin, his head looking like it’s on a swivel the way he looks back and forth between herself and Emma.

Emma lets out a loud breath of relief, and Henry looks at her carefully before hugging her. “You thought I wouldn’t be happy?”

“I wasn’t sure what you were gonna think. I didn’t… I don’t want you to ever feel like we’re replacing you, or that you’re any less our kid than this baby.”

Regina sees Henry’s eyes flick down to Emma’s stomach.

“Like with your brother?” Henry asks, his voice soft.

“Yeah,” Emma’s voice is slightly choked. “Like how I felt with him.”

“I don’t think I will, because I know how much you both love me. But… if I start feeling like that I’ll tell you, okay?”

Emma’s smile is bright and watery. “Deal. And we’re gonna spend a lot of time with you the next few months, so get ready to be embarrassed in public a lot.”

“Aw, man,” Henry hangs his head, but Regina sees the pleased smile darting across his lips.

“You’re welcome to come to some of the doctor visits too, Henry,” Regina adds, stroking her fingers through his messy hair. “In a few weeks there will be a visit where we’ll be able to hear the baby’s heartbeat.”

“That’d be cool,” Henry nods, and then his gaze drops to Emma’s belly, and he hesitantly reaches out a hand until Emma nods, and he places it on her stomach. “So, there’s really baby in there? That’s so weird to think about.”

Emma’s smile is sweet, and she puts her hand over Henry’s, then Regina places her own over both of theirs, and they just sit there for a few minutes, all three of them grinning at one another, and Regina has never felt more like part of a family than right now.

“D’you think I’ll be a good big brother?” Henry asks, looking down at their stacked hands.

Emma throws her other arm, still free, around his shoulder and pulls him close enough to kiss his forehead. “Are you kidding me, Henry? You’re gonna be an awesome big brother. And you’ve already got lots of practice with your uncle.” She mutters the rest, almost under her breath, “that’ll never stop being weird to hear myself say that out loud.”

“Emma is right, sweetheart. As long as you’re just yourself, I don’t think the baby could want anything more from a big brother,” Regina mirrors Emma in pressing a kiss to the other side of his forehead.

Henry smiles up at her, visibly reassured by their words, and then he yelps, looking down at his covered hand. “Was that the baby kicking?”

Emma has the good grace to give an embarrassed chuckle. “No, you dork, that was my stomach grumbling because I’m hungry. It’ll be a while before the baby starts kicking. I think the website I was reading today said right about now it’s around the size of a blueberry, and it has to grow a lot more before any kicking.”

“Oh, I didn’t think of that. Will you let me know when the baby starts?”

“Sure, kid. If the baby takes after you at all, it’ll be kicking up a storm when that happens,” Emma teases. “It felt like you were training for a marathon or something.”

“Just working out, had to get into shape,” Henry grins widely. “I guess we should eat if you’re hungry.”

Regina stands from the couch, reluctantly pulling her hand away from theirs. “Yes, the lasagna should be about ready. Let’s set the table while I pull that out of the oven.”

It’s while Emma and Henry are putting out the plates that the question Regina has been expecting comes up.

“Hey, who’s, um, the dad?”

“I was wondering if you were going to ask,” Emma says, setting a large sharing-bowl of salad in the center of the table. “No dad, just two moms and some magic.”

Henry stops, a wrinkle on his forehead as Regina watches from across kitchen island.

“Well, I know two moms, but I mean… Oh, you mean no dad at all? But how… oh, EW!” He claps his hands over his ears. “Nevermind, forget I asked, I don’t want to hear about my moms having magic sex. Just don’t ever do it anywhere in this kitchen or I’m leaving to live with Snow and David.”

Emma chuckles, a relieved grin on her face as Henry walks out of the kitchen muttering, hands still covering his ears. “That went better than I thought it would, and at least we saved the mind-scarring for last.”

Regina leans into Emma as her arms slip around her waist, and the blonde presses a gentle kiss to her lips. Regina lifts a hand up and reaches back to trail her fingertips across Emma’s cheek. “I hoped it would. We’ve raised him well,” she says, a surge of pride radiating through her body.

“That we did. You did most of the work, and I don’t think I could’ve asked for a better mom to take him in. Thank you.”

Regina blinks away a tear, and sinks her head into the crook of Emma’s neck. “I tried my best, dear. But he’s our boy now, and you’ve been a good mom yourself, even when I was trying to force you away…” She turns in Emma’s arms to face her, regret plain on her face.

“R’gina,” Emma murmurs, pressing her warm, dry lips to Regina’s forehead. “You’ve already apologized more than enough for that, and you’ve changed so much. Just… make it up to us by helping me be a good mom with Henry and the baby, huh?”

“I think I can do that,” Regina directs Emma’s face down, so their lips meet in another soft kiss. It is with great reluctance that she pulls back to start cutting the lasagna for their dinner.

-=<=(__)=>=-

 

**_November 23_ **

When Regina gets home from her trip to grab some groceries from the store, she enters the kitchen to find Emma bent over and half-inside the refrigerator. It’s only the sight of her girlfriend’s rather shapely rear - clad in tight denim – that keeps Regina from raising her voice too much about the fact that nearly half of the contents of the fridge are strewn around the countertop.

          “What in the world are you doing, Emma Swan?”

          Emma yelps as her head bangs against the top of the refrigerator when she jumps, and she emerges with a hand rubbing at her head, but her gaze fixes steadily on Regina. “Where are the apples, Regina?”

          “What?” Regina asks, trying not to let the rough, almost needy tone of Emma’s voice affect her.

          Emma stalks forward, and grabs the grocery bags from Regina’s hands, looking and searching inside, but she doesn’t find what she is looking for. “C’mon, where are you hiding your apples? I know I saw one yesterday, and now it’s gone. Are you telling me there are no apples here? Are you _not_ the person that offers half-naked women giant baskets of apples? I know it’s winter and your tree isn’t growing any, but you gotta have apples, Regina.”

She sounds half-hysterical at the end of her breathless rant, and Regina looks at her in concern, reaching up to touch the back of her hand to Emma’s forehead. No fever that she can tell, so she lowers it again, and examines Emma’s frustrated face, and realization comes to her.

“You’re starting to have cravings, I take it?”

“Maybe,” Emma’s lower lip sticks out in such a childish pout that Regina laughs.

Emma shoots her a dirty look. “This is your fault, woman, our baby is apple-crazy! And Henry made me crave apples too. Guess that was a sign that he was meant to go to you.”

Regina’s eyes soften that. “Well Emma, he still loves them because I packed that apple you saw into his lunch this morning.” She presses a finger to Emma’s lips when she starts sputtering. “But there are more than enough for you, dear. Follow me, and put your shoes on.”

Regina leads her to the back door after Emma slips her boots on, and grabs her jacket – Regina hasn’t had the chance to remove hers. The November air is cool and crisp, and a few orange leaves still hang from the trees in the back yard. The sky is blue-gray with steely clouds visible from the west, building up for a storm, though it looks as if it will pass to their north unless it gets larger.

Regina leads her around along the back wall of the mansion, along the flower beds that curve around it, to a sudden break in the earthen beds where two double-doors rest slanting up on a concrete structure a few feet high. She bends down and lifts the padlock, turning the number tumblers to the correct combination – “Henry’s birthday,” Regina murmurs to Emma as she removes it and opens the doors.

Emma follows her down the stairs, into the root cellar beneath the house, and Regina reaches automatically to the chain that she pulls to turn on the bank of lights overhead.

“Wow, I’ve been to your house so many times and I never realized this was here,” Emma says, and lets out a low whistle as Regina watches her green eyes skim the room.

Every wall has shelves, and most of the space is filled. Along the floor is where she stores many of her vegetables – from carrots to parsnips – from her garden. But along the shelves are wooden apple crates, her apples individually wrapped in partial pages of old newspapers and arranged neatly within the crates.

“Those are all apples? Well, if I ever disappear in the next few months, you might find me down here stuffing apples down my throat. These are all from your tree out there? There must be over a hundred.”

Regina hums, lightly, glowing a bit at the way Emma is looking around in awe at crate after crate of apples. “A mature tree can easily produce this many in a year, but only the ones on this wall are from my Honeycrisp tree,” she waves to the wall on the right. “A few years ago I planted several younger trees in a clearing within the forest out back. Those are still young but they’re producing in smaller quantities. I’ve had my Honeycrisp tree since I was a little girl – my father gave it to me as a present and I’ve tended to it since, but I thought it best to have a variety.”

She hears Emma suck in a breath, and when she glances over Emma is looking at her with sorrowful eyes.

“Sorry, for, uh chain-sawing that branch. I didn’t realize it was from your dad.”

Regina shrugs, and places a gentle hand on Emma’s arm. “The tree recovered, and we’ve come a long way since then, Emma, and I know I did many things to you that I now regret. We were both quite good at hitting one another’s sore spots.”

“That we were,” Emma grins softly. “I’m actually kinda surprised we never just broke out into angry grudge sex those first few months.”

Regina rolls her eyes, and turns so Emma can’t see the heat that thought brings to her face. “Things are better now, at least. Much better.”

She clears her throat and nods to the rest of the room. “There are several other varieties of apples that I have – Newtown Pippin, Northern Spy, Cortland, and Granny Smith. Some are better for juicing to make cider like the Cortland and my Honeycrisp, others are better for pies or applesauce, so I have a good variety.”

She reaches out to grab several of the oldest apples from the Honeycrisp section and hands them to Emma, newspaper crinkling between their fingers. “I believe you enjoyed these the most. I’ll grab you a Cortland to try as it’s also a nice snacking apple.”

She stops only to check several large glass Carboy containers resting on the floor on the far wall, filled with fermenting cider.

“Ah, that’s where your ‘best cider you’ve ever tasted’ comes from?” Emma asks from closer behind Regina than she’d thought the woman was.

Regina glances back and smiles slightly. “Yes, I started these a few weeks ago, they’re close to ready. And as you won’t be able to drink them, I was thinking of making a few batches of sweet cider for you.”

“Probably a good idea,” Emma grins sheepishly. “Where do you actually make it? Is it like something you can squeeze out in the kitchen or what?” Emma asks, shifting her wrapped apples into one arm, and offering her other hand to help Regina rise up from her low crouch.

“I have a cider press, out in the shed, and I use that,” Regina reaches out to one of the Cortland apple crates and grabs one. “I actually quite enjoy the process of making it. It’s… relaxing.”

Emma reaches out with her hand and takes Regina’s after they have ascended and the door to the cellar is locked, and Regina enjoys the feel of Emma’s palm, rough from work, against her smoother hand.

“You’re welcome in the root cellar whenever you like, dear, just let me know if I’m close to running out of any of my apples if you do.”

“Gotcha,” Emma nods, and her thumb strokes across the webbed flesh between Regina’s thumb and forefinger. “If you need any help with yardwork or anything before I start inflating like a balloon, let me know.”

Regina frowns in thought, opening the back door and letting Emma enter first, their hands slowly parting. “I suppose I could use some help this coming weekend after Thanksgiving. The weather has been mild so I’ve put off some of my trimming of the perennials, and I need to cover some of the more delicate root systems with mulch for the winter.”

“I’ve got work on Sunday, but Friday and Saturday I’m all yours,” Emma nods decisively.

“Thank you,” Regina circles around her, and removes the Cortland apple she had been carrying from the newspaper that was wrapped carefully around it. She rinses it gently under the kitchen faucet, and then offers it to Emma, the action so similar to their earliest times knowing one another and yet so different.

As Emma takes it, examining the rich crimson of the apple flesh against a background of light yellow, Regina begins unpackaging the apples Emma had carried in.

“You said Cortland, right?” Emma asks, raising it near her mouth.

As Regina nods in confirmation, Emma takes a large bite, and groans softly in contentment.

“Damn, these are good too,” Emma says around her mouthful, and Regina forces herself to refrain from scolding her for talking with food in her mouth as she places the Honeycrisps into her crisper drawer within the refrigerator. Several more moans and groans emanate from Emma as she eats, and Regina knows as they begin to sound more sexual that Emma is doing it deliberately.

By the time she turns, Emma has over half the apple gone, and is leaning with her jean-clad hip against the countertop. Regina’s lips curve pleasantly and she steps closer to the woman. She causes Emma to freeze in place when she reaches out with a finger and runs it along a rivulet of apple juice that is running down Emma’s chin. Emma’s next groan is a bit louder – and sounds even more sexual than before – when Regina brings the wet finger up to her own lips and sucks it into her mouth for several long heartbeats.

Then she winks at the now-speechless blonde, and bumps her hip into Emma’s as she passes her out of the kitchen. “Don’t play with fire, Miss Swan,” she calls out teasingly as she goes. “And I expect my refrigerator to be back in order when I return.”

-=<=(__)=>=-

-=<=(__)=>=-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Alright, hope you liked that. Ah, apples. I’m sort of obsessed with them so forgive me for that little educational tangent. And yeah I’m going with Regina’s little lecture on Honeycrisp apples in the second episode of season 1, even though the props they used while she did so were Red Delicious (cheaper than honeycrisp so likely why they used them). IMO Red Delicious are so overrated and there are so many better varieties out there, so yeah, in my fanon Regina’s main tree is Honeycrisp, and she’s got other varieties too.
> 
> Next chapter will have another doctor's visit, as well as some interaction outside of just the Regina/Emma/Henry dynamic (including Thanksgiving dinner). Hopefully it will be out either on Thanksgiving or the day before or after. Let me know what you thought!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon A Time or any related characters. They all belong to Disney/ABC and their affiliated partners. I write this only for my enjoyment (and hopefully yours).
> 
> A/N: Alright, here we are, earlier than I thought. And….. that’s because I started writing and realized when a few new scenes popped into my head that the chapter was going to be very unwieldly (I’m trying to keep – with as many natural breaks as I can – it limited to 4-6000 words per chapter) if I left it as is, so I’ve split it in two and can flesh out a few scenes that I thought needed fleshing out. 
> 
> So you guys get a chap today and the one set on Thanksgiving itself, which I should have all polished by Wednesday or Thursday. So, two chaps for the price of one :p. Both will be Emma’s POV focus and we’ll get back to Regina-focused in the one after and keep up the alternating focuses. Still not sure about the total length of the fic because my storyline is expanding and contracting in different areas as I work through my more detailed plotting.
> 
> Enjoy!

-=<=(__)=>=-

** Chapter 4 **

-=<=(__)=>=-

**_November 24_ **

          Their scheduled appointment with Augusta Trot finds Emma once more in one of the examination rooms in the afternoon, though this time Regina made a point of arriving early. She knows she is annoying Regina with her fingers tapping rapidly against her leg, but these visits remind her a bit too much of her visits to the prison hospital.

          Thankfully, it is only a short wait before the door opens, distracting Emma somewhat from her thoughts. A short, plump woman with grey hair cropped close to her head, and rosy cheeks enters the room. She pushes a pair of glasses up with an index finger, Emma’s chart under her arm, and moves forward with a wide smile on her face.

          “Miss Swan, I’ve seen you in this town for quite some time but I don’t believe we’ve ever actually met. I’m Doctor Augusta Trot.”

          “Hey,” Emma nods, wiping a sweaty palm on the gown she is wearing as she stands, and takes the woman’s hand. “Just Emma is fine.”

          The woman nods, and her steel-blue gaze turns to Regina, and moves to shake her hand as well. “Regina, it’s been a while.”

          “It’s good to see you again, Augusta,” Regina offers carefully, and Emma knows they haven’t talked since the curse broke and Regina is worried about the woman’s reaction.

          But Augusta just pats her hand, and then releases it and removes Emma’s folder from beneath her arm. “Now, I see you visited with Doctor Whale two weeks ago,” she says, and Emma is bit pleased to hear a hint of disdain when the woman says Whale’s name.

          “I’ve looked over your blood test results, and as far as they go, things look very good. Now, your cholesterol as slightly above normal, which may be something we keep an eye on later on and it’s something you should pay attention to after the pregnancy as well – of course it will begin to elevate naturally as the weeks go by, but just something to keep in mind. Your iron levels were a bit lower than I would like – have you been taking prenatal vitamins?”

          Emma nods, shifting on the reclining exam bed. “Yep, started the evening of my visit with Whale and I’ve been taking them since.”

          “That should be enough, we’ll just keep an eye on your iron levels as well, it may require a small extra supplement, but it’s nothing serious since your blood tests are from before you began your vitamins.”

          Augusta pauses, and makes a note on the side of one of the charts in the file, and then looks back to Emma. “I often encourage a basic blood test for Rh type, genetic markers, and other things for the father if that is possible. It helps to rule out any possible problems the baby may face, or give an early warning of what you might wish to prepare for.”

          Emma flushes, and glances toward Regina. “Um, there’s… not exactly a father. I guess technically at least.”

          Augusta frowns, but seems to catch Emma’s gaze toward Regina, and looks between both pink-cheeked women. “Oh, I see! This is rather rare, but I have dealt with a magically-produced pregnancy in the past. You’re certain of this?”

          “Yes, Augusta, we’re sure, the child is both of ours,” Regina assures her.

          “Well, that certainly makes things easier, as I have all of your files alraedy,” Augusta directs to Regina. “I’ve never delivered a child from a same-sex magical union, but as far as I know things will be similar to the one I was involved with in the past.”

          She notices Emma’s questioning look, and explains further. “The one I mentioned I dealt with was a eunuch and the woman he loved, dear. They were quite the lovely couple.” She looks down at the files and writes something into one of the front pages, likely noting the new information. “I’ll take a look at Regina’s files when we’re one here, but I don’t recall anything that would be of concern for the baby, so I think we’re relatively safe on that front between your tests and her history.”

          “That’s a relief,” Emma says softly, some of the muscles she’d not realized she had tensed, now relaxing.

          “Okay, we have a number of things to get to this visit so let’s go through them in the most comfortable manner. Did you follow instructions about refraining from urination for a few hours before now?”

          Emma scratches her neck, and shifts in her seat again. “Yeah, but I think I’m gonna have to go pretty soon.”

          “Excellent.” Augusta says, and moves over to wheel out some equipment. “this early in the pregnancy a full bladder helps to ‘lift’ the uterus into a good position for a clear picture, so we’ll do the ultrasound first. Then, we’ll let you go to the restroom – and we do need a urine sample – and after that we’ll do the rest, mostly just a pelvic exam and pap smear, which tend to be the most uncomfortable parts, and that should be it.”

          “Alright, sounds like a plan,” Emma says with a nervous chuckle as she follows the woman’s directions to lie back and adjust her position to get the best image from the ultrasound.

          Regina rises from her seat and moves to stand next to Emma, and it’s becoming almost natural how their fingers entwine just moments after Regina takes her hand.

          “Ready to see our baby?” Emma asks, lightness to her tone as she lifts Regina’s hand up. Regina nods, and Emma feels Regina’s lips buss along her knuckles.

          The conductive gel is as both warm and cool against her belly just as she remembers from her pregnancy with Henry, and it sends a slight shiver down her spine. Augusta turns on the screen of the machine, and wheels it slightly closer to her before taking the transducer and placing it against Emma’s gelled-up skin.

          Augusta slides the device across Emma’s belly, slowly but surely searching for the right spot, and the right angle. After a little over a minute, Emma hears a soft, “Ah, there it is,” from the woman.

          The screen is dark and blurry, but Augusta carefully adjusts the angle until a small blob is visible amongst the gray noise. “Alright, this is it.” Augusta moves one hand on a mouse, which shifts a pointer on the screen to circle around the tiny body of the baby. It is small, almost indistinct, but Emma can make out stubby little arms and legs developing.

          “That’s the little kiddo?” Emma asks, her voice soft because she feels almost like the baby could hear her, and she feels Regina’s fingers digging into the back of her hand.

          “Yes,” Augusta nodded, and moved the mouse to point to a mass right next to it. “This is the egg sack here, and this,” she points to a dark space on the baby’s body, “Is the head where the brain is developing.”

          “Looks like a little gummy bear,” Emma says, staring at the image.

          She turns her head to watch Regina, who is looking at it with an awed expression on her face. Emma reaches up to stroke her cheek, and Regina’s gaze snaps down to hers, a warm smile on her lips.

          “It’s beautiful, Emma.”

          Emma nods, mindful of the doctor clicking on the screen, dragging a line across it, but keeps her focus on Regina. “So tiny, though.” Emma whispers. “With Henry, they didn’t do an ultrasound this early. It was 12 weeks I think, so this kiddo is even smaller than I thought it’d be.”

          A tear drips down Emma’s cheek as she looks back at the image and watches the screen as the figure on the screen moves slightly, and she just _knows_ it’ll be a kicker like Henry, but it doesn’t matter because this is her baby – Regina’s baby – and it will be perfect like Henry no matter how much discomfort and pain she goes through.

          She isn’t even sure how much time passes until she realizes Regina’s lips are on her cheek, kissing at the wet tear-streaks, and the machine is off and Augusta is politely turning away, busying herself near one of the countertops in the room.

          “Emma?” Regina whispers fractions of an inch from her cheek. “Are you alright?”

          Emma nods furiously, and chokes back more tears when she sees Regina’s own eyes are rather moist. “I’m so happy, Regina.”

          The pad of Regina’s thumb strokes over her cheek as she pulls her face back from Emma’s. “I am too, Emma.”

-=<=(__)=>=-

          The rest of Emma’s tests go by in a blur to her, with her mind stuck on the image on the screen, and as they leave Augusta hands them a printout of the ultrasound. Emma feels restless and hyper on the drive back to the mansion, her fingers reaching out and dancing up Regina’s arm as she drives, no matter how many times Regina scolds her.

          Henry is still at school – the last real day before the half day tomorrow and then the Thanksgiving holiday starting on Wednesday. Regina leaves for the kitchen, and Emma settles down on the couch, folding her legs beneath her with their sonogram image resting on her lap.

          Regina returns with two glasses, both filled with ice-cold orange juice, and Emma accepts one gratefully and sips. The cool juice bites at her tongue pleasantly, pulp floating across its surface. “Mmm, fresh-squeezed?”

          Regina smiles around the rim of her own glass. “I had some time last night to make it.” Regina’s hand reaches out, palm ghosting across Emma’s leg until her fingers are resting in her lap on top of the photo.

          Augusta had assured them that everything looked normal – the heart rate that could be seen on the screen was slightly higher than the middle of the normal range, and there was nothing of concern thus far visible. She’d scheduled them to come back at twelve weeks for another visit for nuchal translucency screening to estimate if there was a chance of Down’s syndrome, as well as the opportunity to hear the baby’s heartbeat.

          Regina pulls her hand away before Emma has a chance to place her own on top of it, and then sets her glass on a coaster before walking over to one of the tall bookshelves along the side wall. Emma watches with interest as Regina’s fingertips run across the bindings of the books until they happen upon a blue book with an almost fabric-like cover. Regina removes it from the shelf, and then a green one next to it of similar appearance, and returns to the couch.

          “Mmm, whatcha doin’, Regina?” Emma inquires, kicking her feet up to rest on the coffee table.

          Regina rolls her eyes at her but looks back to the book, and Emma tries to hide a grin at how much softer Regina has become – though much of it is probably due to Emma being pregnant with their baby. A few months before, she would likely have shoved Emma’s stockinged feet off and lectured her about oils from the sweat on her socks ruining the table surface.

          Regina shifts closer on the couch to Emma until their legs are pressed against one another in a single line of warmth, and opens the green book. Inside the pages are blank, and Emma glances at her, waiting for the woman to explain.

          Regina gently takes the ultrasound picture from Emma’s lap, and then tilts the book enough for Emma to see the pages have a thin film over them. When Regina uses one of her fingernails to separate it and slide the image in between the film and the page, Emma realizes it’s some sort of keepsake book.

          “Baby scrapbook?” she asks, grinning, her heart thudding at the thought of how they will be filling it in the coming years. _Together_.

          “Yes, I thought we should keep one.” Regina says, and closes the book to grab the blue one she had brought as well. “I made this one when I adopted Henry…”

          Her hand runs lovingly over its surface, and when she opens it, Emma sees the first page with the large letters of “ _Henry Daniel Mills_ ” written out in painstakingly beautiful calligraphy.

          “This has all of his baby pictures?” Emma breathes out, feeling her throat close up slightly at the thought. All of the moments she’d never been there for, especially in those early months when the only thing on her mind had been how he was doing and if he had been placed with a good family.

          Regina nods, and turns the page, the first picture on it is one of her and a sleeping infant Henry dressed in a blue onesie, cradled in her arms. She looks tired in the picture, rings around her eyes, but her mouth is turned up in a smile, and her eyes themselves look bright.

          “This was the first picture I have of us. Kathryn took it for us. He barely slept during the night back then – I think at the time she took that, I had been awake for most of three days with only a few short naps.”

          Emma reaches down, and runs a finger over Henry’s little cheeks on the picture. “Fussy little fella, huh? Got it from me, I bet.”

          “Oh, there’s no doubt about that whatsoever,” Regina smirks, and then softens it into a fond smile. “But… it was worth every sleepless night.”

          Emma’s gaze flicks to their new baby book, and back to Henry’s. “Hey, I’d love to look at this together more, but could you do something first?”

          “What would that be, dear?” Regina’s eyebrow arches upward as she glances at her.

          “Could you, uh, poof over to my apartment for a minute? In my closet, there’s a beat up old cardboard box that I want to show you. Could you bring it back here?”

          “Perhaps, but if you call it ‘poofing’ again you’ll be making your own dinner. It’s teleportation,” Regina says primly, brushing her skirt straight as she stands up and then is gone in a flash of purple smoke.

          She returns a minute later with the box, and Emma grins up at her.

          “So, if it’s teleportation and not poofing, does that mean I get to say ‘Beam me up, Scotty’?”

          Regina groans and her eyebrows do that adorable scrunching-up-annoyed thing that Emma loves, and sets the box in Emma’s lap before retaking her seat. “You’re hopeless, Emma. Hopefully our child inherits my wit and not yours.”

          Emma fake-pouts, and digs through the box of mementos, the only things she has from her past life, until she finds the small folder she keeps toward the bottom, and pulls it out.

          “You’re letting me view a part of Henry’s childhood,” Emma starts, holding the folder to her chest, “part I never imagined I’d see when I gave him up. So I guess it’s only fair to return the favor.”

          She lowers the folder onto both of their laps, and opens it up, and hears Regina gasp softly at what it contains. “All three of my ultrasounds that they let me get pictures of. This one’s at 12 weeks, the next one is in the second trimester and the third is in the last trimester. They’re the only thing of Henry from back then that I have, and even though I gave him up I always held onto these to… to remember him. And now… I thought they might help complete his book...”

          Emma shrugs, trailing off, and looks down at the images that she has carried with her for over a decade. Regina slowly shifts her gaze to each picture in turn, as if memorizing every little detail. Then she places them inside the cover of Henry’s scrapbook, and then carefully closes the book and places it and its new partner down onto the coffee table.

          Her mocha eyes are bright and tender when she turns fully to Emma and her cool fingers prod Emma’s chin upwards. “They complete it perfectly, Emma.”

          Emma smiles softly as Regina uses the fingers under her chin along with her thumb to urge Emma toward her, and then Regina’s moist, warm lips are pressing against hers, barely more than a feather’s-brush of contact. Emma tilts her head slightly to the right to avoid bumping noses, and leans into the next soft kiss, pressing her lips more firmly against Regina’s. The other woman’s fingers slide across Emma’s chin and to the side until Regina’s palm is resting fully against one of Emma’s cheeks. Emma’s own hands are busy, stroking down Regina’s sides, brushing the outer curve of her breasts as they descend, and they settle firmly on Regina’s hips.

          Regina’s rose-colored lips part against Emma’s, and Emma’s mind starts to haze at the familiar taste of Regina’s mouth. Emma’s tongue strokes softly against Regina’s lips, darting in teasingly against the woman’s teeth as it explores every inch of her lips, lingering slightly at her scar.

          “Emma,” Regina whispers breathlessly, pulling away mere centimeters.

          “You’re beautiful,” Emma reassures her, and then their mouths are joined once again, and Regina is playfully nipping at Emma’s lower lip with her teeth, and their noses are bumping as their heads tilt and turn to find the best angle to take in _everything_ the other can give.

          Emma whimpers softly when Regina’s fingers slip along her jaw and brush the skin of her head just behind her earlobe, and whimpers again when Regina repeats the movement. She can feel every inch of Regina’s slow smirk against her own lips, and jolts of pleasure shoot through her body and down into her belly when Regina’s other hand rises to mirror the action on the opposite side. It’s utterly wonderful and terrible that she’s found one of Emma’s more sensitive spots so accidentally but as long as she keeps doing it she doesn’t care how she found it.

          Regina’s lipstick-smeared lips – Emma is certain her own lips are likely now wearing more of Regina’s lipstick than she is – leave hers, and begin to trail along the line of Emma’s jaw, peppering soft kisses each incremental movement upward. Emma’s fingers dig sharply into the raven-haired woman’s hips when Regina’s fingers stop their movements and her lips take their place, pressing a kiss against the flesh behind Emma’s ear.

Emma’s hands leave Regina’s hips and stroke their way back up her sides, her short nails scraping at the fabric of Regina’s blouse, leaving gentle shivers in Regina’s muscles in their wake, until her hands come level to Regina’s breasts. She can feel the bumpy pattern of the thin lace of Regina’s bra even through the woman’s blouse, as her head tilts to allow Regina a better angle, and she gently runs her fingertips along the sides of her breasts, and Emma feels her own breath stutter wildly at the responding sudden flick of Regina’s tongue on her flesh.

A loud ringing sounds from the table, and Emma groans and forces herself to pull away from Regina whose smoldering brown eyes watch her movements as she bends down to pick up the phone where she’d left it. She checks the notifications and sees a text waiting for her.

“Shit, Henry just got out of school, I didn’t realize it was that late.” Emma says, still breathing heavily.

Regina’s cheeks flush prettily, and she nods. “Nor did I. That was…”

“Yeah. We’re definitely doing that again,” Emma says, her voice still husky with want.

“Yes,” Regina’s eyes are dark with promise as she rises from the couch as well, and grabs her car keys from the table where she’d dropped them.

-=<=(__)=>=-

**_November 25_ **

Emma realizes their secret can’t stay secret for long the very next day, when she stops by Town Hall to drop some paperwork off for her mother, planning to meet Regina at the mansion for a short lunch break.

It’s jarring, even now, to walk in through the doors to the mayor’s office and not see Regina sitting there in one of those sexy pantsuits or pencil skirts. Instead it is her mother’s visage that greets her, dressed in a long-sleeved blouse with a flowery collar and – as she sees when Snow stands – a long ruffled skirt.

“Emma! Good morning. Or afternoon I guess, sometimes I lose track of time with all of this work. We could grab some lunch if you want?”

“Hey Mom,” she grazes her mother’s cheek with a quick kiss. “Unfortunately I come bearing more paperwork for you, and I’ve got my lunch hour booked already. Maybe next time?”

Snow sighs, but nods with a slight smile. She takes the proffered stack of papers, setting them on the already high ‘IN’ box on her desk, which gives Emma a moment to take in the rest of the office and realize her little brother is asleep in a portable bassinet resting next to the desk. “There’s so much work, I don’t have any clue how Regina kept up with it _and_ raised Henry.”

Emma sticks her hands in the back pockets of her jeans and rocks back on her heels. She isn’t entirely sure either, but she thinks it’s damn amazing.

“Oh!” Snow’s eyes light up suddenly, and she glances toward the closed door of her office, before leaning closer to Emma, lowering her voice. “You’ll never guess what I heard this morning, from Leroy.”

Emma tries to hold back a rolling of her eyes, because she knows just how big of a gossip her mother is. Leroy too, for that matter. “Do I even want to know what you two are gossiping about?”

“Yes, I think you will – it’s a rumor about a certain someone possibly being pregnant.”

Emma nearly chokes on her own breath, and her eyes are wide and she hopes her mother doesn’t notice the cracking of her voice as she asks, “O-oh, really? Who’s that?” If her mother says it’s her, she has a feeling she’ll be calling Regina to help her discretely dispose of Whale’s body over lunch break instead of eating.

“Well, Sneezy was at the bookstore on Friday, and he told Leroy this. Apparently he saw her buying pregnancy books at the bookstore, and she tried to be secretive about it but he managed to see one of the titles and looked at the section she had taken several books from,” Snow teased, not straight out telling her, though it relieved Emma to know this rumor certainly wasn’t about herself.

“Mom, I give, who was it?”

Snow looks at the door again, and in a loud whisper blurts out, “Regina! Sneezy saw Regina buying books about pregnancy, so Leroy and I are thinking she’s almost certainly pregnant. So the question is, who is the father?” A wide, conspiratorial grin is practically pasted to Snow’s face.

Emma chuckles, realizing that the books Regina had given her over the weekend were the ones that Sneezy saw her buying, and she shakes her head. “Mom, I really doubt that Regina is pregnant. I’ve been spending a lot of time with her and Henry at family dinners and Henry’s been staying over at her place a lot, and one of us would know if she’s dating someone let alone pregnant.

Snow frowns slightly, but persists. “But what else would those books be for? She has very few friends that she could be buying them for, and I can’t think of anyone of them who would be pregnant. So, I think she’s either planning to get pregnant, or she already is. I’m sure of it, Emma. And you never know, it could have been a one night stand, or…” Snow pales slightly. “Or Robin! What if she’s still not over Robin, and-“

Emma raises a hand, starting to get frustrated, and she knows it’s that last idea of Robin and Regina that sets her off the most. “Mom, she’s not having an affair with Robin. I know that much at least. She’s done and over Robin, and she wouldn’t do that to Roland. Have… have you told anyone else about this?”

“Umm….” Her mother looks down sheepishly. “I may have mentioned it to Ruby and maybe one or two other people?”

Emma sighs, and runs an agitated hand through her hair, staring at her mother. “Mom, please just… just drop it, alright? If Regina’s pregnant, I’m sure she will tell us eventually, and I don’t want people spreading this sort of thing especially without even being sure. For all you know, she bought them for Kathryn or something. Her and Frederick haven’t had kids yet.” She doesn’t even feel bad about not telling her the real purpose of the books now.

“Alright, Emma… that’s a good point, I hadn’t thought of Kathryn,” her mother says after a short silence, searching Emma’s face. “I won’t tell anyone else, and I probably shouldn’t have anyway. But I thought you should know since you share Henry with her and everything.”

“Well, I’ll handle it, okay? I’ll talk to her about it or something.” She glances at her watch, not even seeing the time displayed on it, because she really just needs to get out of there. “Um, I should get going, I’ve got that thing over lunch hour. See you later, okay Mom?”

Snow nods quickly, her cheeks slightly flushed. “Have a good rest of the day, Emma.”

“No more gossiping,” Emma says sternly, as if she’s talking to a child, and only turns to leave after her mother nods.

-=<=(__)=>=-

Emma makes it out to her car, and then all the way over to the mansion, and inside the door before she slides to the floor laughing almost hysterically, unable to stop. Regina, apparently already in the kitchen, steps out and walks toward her slowly, as if approaching a potentially dangerous animal, which only makes Emma laugh harder.

“What could possibly be so funny, Emma? Do I even want to know?”

“O-oh you don’t, you definitely don’t,” Emma gasps out, “but I’m gonna tell you anyways. My mom,” she croaks out, “she’s convinced herself that you’re pregnant!”

Regina stares at her, mouth dropped open in shock as Emma grabs her hand and pulls her down onto the floor with her, and buries her face in Regina’s shoulder, trying to muffle her laughter.

“Why on earth would that idiot think I’m pregnant?”

“Sneezy saw you buying those books and apparently she’s got her own 7 Gossiping Dwarves system, and she was so sure that you were pregnant or trying to get pregnant,” Emma giggles. “And the whole ride here all I could think about is what the look on her face will be when she realizes why you were buying the books.”

Emma is almost certain she feels Regina snicker softly in her hair, but she can tell the woman is trying hard to refrain from joining Emma in laughter.

“Who has she told?” Regina finally asks resignedly when Emma’s laughing fit begins to subside. “We both know that woman has no brain-to-mouth filter when it comes to something like this.”

“Ruby and ‘a few others’,” Emma raises her fingers in mock quotation signs.

          “How lovely,” Regina rolls her eyes, and rests her forehead against Emma’s.

“We were planning to tell them sooner or later, but I think it’s probably a good idea to go with sooner before the gossiping gets out of hand, and everyone thinks you’re carrying Robin Hood’s lovechild or something. And yes, that was one suggestion my mother made,” Emma huffs.

Regina’s eyes widen, and her nose scrunches. “Snow needs her mouth sewn shut.”

“Tell me about it,” Emma groans, and slides her arms around Regina’s shoulders. “I’m pretty sure I thought about shoving a gag in her mouth when she started coming up with ideas of how you could have gotten pregnant.”

Regina’s eyes flicker over Emma’s face, and a slow, teasing grin begins to play across her lips. “You sound rather jealous, Emma…”

“Maybe I am,” she pouts back at the dark-haired woman.

She feels Regina’s fingers slide up her neck, and then grip her jaw firmly. “Don’t be. You’re everything I need. All that I want.”

“I must be pretty special then, huh?” Emma matches her teasing grin, her frustration with her mother dissipating completely for the moment.

“Yes, dear,” Regina pecks her nose with a swift kiss. “But I must be careful in how often I tell you, lest your head balloon in size and you begin to act like your mother.”

Emma ducks her head, resting it against Regina’s again. “Ouch,” she chuckles. “So, when do we tell them?”

“Thanksgiving?” Regina suggests. “After dinner would probably be best.”

Emma sucks in a deep breath, but she knows Regina will be right there with her, just like she was when they told Henry, and this time Henry will be there too, and that helps to push back the creeping fear of rejection she’s known since a child, that she knows will always sit there in the back of her mind when it comes to her parents. “It’s a plan, then. And no matter what, you, me, and Henry are sticking it out together, right?”

The pad of Regina’s thumb runs across her cheek, and the other woman nods. “Right.”

-=<=(__)=>=-

**_November 26_ **

          Unfortunately not _everything_ goes to plan, but she’s come to expect that in this town. It happens when she heads to the Diner for a late lunch that Wednesday. The inside of the diner is almost empty, only someone – one of the Merry Men – in a back corner eating quietly. Ruby is there as well, wiping down a table.

          “Hey Emma,” the brunette greets her, and walks over to meet her at the counter. “I was just thinkin’ about you actually. Elsa and I are taking Anna out on like a girls night out on Friday, we were wondering if you might want to come?”

          Emma nearly says yes, so used to giving that answer to her brown-haired friend every time she asks, but snaps her mouth shut the next moment when she remembers she can’t drink. “Er, sorry Ruby, I don’t think I can make it.”

          “Really?” Ruby arches an eyebrow, and leans closer. “I already asked your dad and he said you don’t have a shift. You got something else going on?”

          “Um…” Emma tries to think of something quickly, but then Ruby is suddenly _way_ too close to her, her nose almost touching Emma’s neck, and she’s _sniffing_.

          “What the hell, Rubes?” Emma jerks backward, staring at the werewolf.

          “Sorry,” Ruby says, but her grin – a wolf-got-the-canary-grin – says she’s not even remotely sorry. “Just had to confirm a hunch. There’s been something off about your scent for the last few weeks, but I couldn’t place it. And then Snow comes in yesterday, telling me about Regina buying pregnancy books… She bought them for you, didn’t she?”   

          Emma quickly clamps a hand over her friend’s mouth and drags the surprised woman the short distance to the bathrooms, and after quickly checking the stalls, she turns to her with wide eyes. “Damnit, Snow,” Emma mutters. “You could really… smell that?”

          Ruby winks, and taps the side of her nose with a finger. “This thing is pretty damn good when I know what to sniff for, Em. So, it’s true? You’re preggers?” She asks, excitement dancing across her face, and she grabs Emma’s arms.

          “Yes, but don’t say anything to anyone, got it? Complete secrecy. We were planning to tell people tomorrow night after Thanksgiving dinner.”

          “’We’?” Ruby repeats, her eyes twinkling, and Emma drops her head in her hands, cursing her own mouth now.

          “Who’s the lucky guy then, Emma? I know it’s not Hook, because he’s been drowning in the sorrows of your breakup and feeling sorry for himself down at the Rabbit Hole since the day you ended it. So…. Who is it? I promise I won’t tell.”

          Emma groans, and looks up at the puppy eyes look Ruby is now giving her. “Fine, but if you say anything before we tell everyone, I’m gonna have a nice warm fur coat for the rest of the winter.” Emma’s shoulders sink in resignation, knowing that Ruby will get it out of her one way or another anyway. She’s just too damn persistent. “It’s Regina.”

          “Wait, Regina? As in, our Regina? Former mayor Regina? Sexy-as-hell-Reg-“

          Emma glares and Ruby stops talking. “Yes, _that_ Regina.”

          “Well, damn, it’s about time, Emma, you two have been dancing around each other for a long time, and I was starting to think you two were so stubborn that you’d never wake up and go for it.”

          Emma groans, and runs a hand across her face. “Were we really that obvious?”

          “Oh, Emma honey, since the moment you met neither of you had any idea what personal space meant, and Granny and I have been watching you eye-sex each other since then. It might not be obvious to some people, but I’m pretty sure a fair few have at least suspected you two have the hots for each other. So, you’re together, like… _together_ together?”

          “We are,” Emma nods firmly, a wide smile spreading her lips.

          Ruby grabs her hand, and squeezes it tightly. “Good. I’m glad for you, Em, especially if she makes you smile like that. You both deserve it.”

          Emma blinks back a tear, and pulls her friend into a tight hug. “Thanks, Rubes.”

          “Don’t worry, my lips are sealed. But you better let me stay tomorrow night, because I’m not missing Snow’s reaction when she finds out.”

          Emma grins. “Well, we can’t have you missing that. I’m kinda looking forward to it as well.”

          “Alright then. Hey, do I get to be Auntie Ruby to the little runt?”

          Emma stares at her friend with the best Regina-glare she can muster. “Only if you don’t call the poor kid a runt.”

          Ruby laughs, and slings an arm around Emma’s shoulder. “Fair enough. Now, let’s get you two a nice big lunch on the house. Can’t let my little niece or nephew starve, now can I?” She asks as she leads Emma out.

         

-=<=(__)=>=-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Alright, hope you guys liked it. As you can see Snow is definitely a giant gossip and, boy will she be in for a surprise. The box is indeed the box from this season where Emma gets the camcorder from her time spent with Lilly and later in Ingrid’s home – it’s her only bits of her past and I totally see her hanging onto Henry’s sonograms even with her closed adoption decision. And yes, hope you guys liked the bit of teasing with Emma/Regina (still a few chapters until full escalation of their sexytimes ;) )
> 
> Next chapter will be all of Thanksgiving Day and they break the news to Snow and Charming.
> 
> Thanks for all the reviews and feedback last time, see you again next chapter!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon A Time or any related characters. They all belong to Disney/ABC and their affiliated partners. I write this only for my enjoyment (and hopefully yours).
> 
> A/N: Well, this got out a lot later than I planned, but it couldn’t be helped. Haven’t watched the latest two episodes yet either, but I’m assuming there were plenty of painful OQ and CS moments amongst them *sigh* (hopefully a few good SQ interactions?). Anyway here’s the thanksgiving chapter, including the big reveal to the Charmings – enjoy!

-=<=(__)=>=-

** Chapter 5 **

-=<=(__)=>=-

**_November 27_ **

          The morning of Thanksgiving dawns cold and dreary. The skies are overcast with barely a hint of the sun behind them, and the precipitation from the clouds swings between freezing rain and sleet. But Emma is up early, and comes over to spend the morning with Henry watching the Thanksgiving Day parade, while Regina sleeps in and is only awake to join them for the last hour and a half.

          After, Regina is in the kitchen, preparing the dishes she is bringing to contribute to their gathering at Emma’s parents, and Emma watches her and Henry begin to prepare for their cooking, happy to see them spending more time together. She doesn’t stay long after that, as she knows that hovering in the kitchen gets on Regina’s nerves. Which is what leads to her knocking on her parents’ door that Thanksgiving afternoon.

          Her father answers the door with little Neal in one arm, a burping towel slung over David’s shoulder. “Emma,” he greets with a smile, stepping back to let her into the apartment. “I wasn’t sure when you’d be coming over.”

          “Hey Dad, how are things going?”

          He shifts Neal when the baby starts squirming, and pats his back. “Pretty well, we’ve already got a few guests, and it sounds like dinner should be on time.”

          Emma steps into the apartment and sees her mother is standing behind the kitchen counter, a basting bulb in one hand as she looks down at a recipe book held in the other. Next to her, Aurora is carefully using a knife to chop something on a cutting board.

          “Hello sweetie,” Snow calls, looking up toward her. “Happy Thanksgiving!”

          Emma smiles, and stuffs her hands into her jean pockets as she walks toward the kitchen island, a clash of aromas from cooking turkey, baking bread, and a mish-mash of other scents washing over her. “You too. Food smells really good.”

          “Thank you, Aurora’s been a great help.”

          Aurora pauses in her chopping and glances up, smiling in greeting to Emma. “Your mother has been teaching me how to cook, so most of this is her. How are you doing, Emma?”

          “Pretty good. Last week was a little busy at work, but this week has been better. “

          “Where’s Henry?” Snow asks, glancing over Emma’s shoulder.

          “Ah, with Regina. He’s helping her with her pies for tonight.”

          “Oh, and you decided not to join in the fun?” Snow asks, a slight twinkle in her eye, and Emma is glad that they’re starting to repair their relationship this much after the fallout from her out-of-control powers two months before.

          “Yeah, I figured no one here would enjoy nuclear-irradiated pie crusts,” Emma jokes, and glances over her shoulder toward the sitting area where the television is turned on low.

          Archie is sitting in a chair, a plate on his lap with various snacks that Emma realizes are arrayed on the table, and Pongo is curled up and sleeping at his feet. Mulan is seated on the floor with little baby Philip on her lap, and it’s still an amazing sight to her whenever she sees the two together. The woman who Emma met in the Enchanted Forest and who has served the last month as her deputy is usually so fierce and stoic, displaying few emotions.

Yet like now with Philip on her lap, playing some sort of round-peg-round-hole game with a plastic toy, her face is light, a wide smile on her lips as she claps every time he fits the right shape into it; and her usually gruff voice is softened and almost cooing to the little boy. The scary-exciting thought about that was the fact that others would probably be looking at Emma and thinking the same thing not-so-many months from now, watching her play with her own baby.

          “There are all sorts of snacks to tide you over until supper tonight,” her mother’s voice says, snapping Emma back to the conversation.

          “Yeah, thanks, I’ll grab some and hang out, okay? Unless you wish to brave my cooking skills where Regina cannot….”

          Snow laughs, and moves her free hand in a shooing motion. “Go on, we’re fine here.”

          Emma moves over to the table and grabs a plate and circles around, looking at the various bowls and plates and platters. She settles for piling her plate with chips and onion dip, pretzels, cheese and crackers, as well as a large handful of celery sticks and broccoli heads – something Regina no longer even needs to be there to insist she eat, for her to remember she’s eating healthier now because there’s more than herself to be eating for.

          A knock sounds at the door, and Emma waves off David who starts to get up from the couch he’d taken a seat on, and heads to the door herself with the plate in one hand. The smiling face of Elsa greets her, the woman looking almost at home in her black jeans and light blue sweater. It’s still a little jarring, but Emma is glad that the woman was finally talked into wearing clothes from this world rather than her dress.

          “Emma, hello… Happy… Thanksgiving?” Elsa stumbles over the words. “I hope I did that right, Ruby told me what to say this morning, but this holiday is new to me.”

          “Yeah, you said it right,” Emma reassures her, and steps forward to pull her friend into a half-hug, careful to not spill the food on her plate. “Come on in, we’re eating some snacks and I think David has the television on.”

          Elsa pulls back, her eyes lighting up, and Emma’s lips quirk in a grin, knowing she is completely fascinated with the moving pictures and sounds of televisions. She steps back, letting Elsa through, and follows the woman to the table, leaning slightly against it as she takes a little bit of food from each plate and bowl on the table.

          “So, where’s Ruby?”

          Just the mention of their werewolf friend’s name makes the other blonde’s face brighten. As unexpected as their relationship had been at first, Emma is glad of the results and both of them seem to be very happy together.

          “I was exiled from Granny’s for the day, and Ruby is helping her cook their foods to bring here,” Elsa says in a low, slightly embarrassed tone. “They said I need a good many more lessons in cooking before they will trust me with an important meal like this.”

          Emma chuckles, and bumps Elsa with her shoulder as they walk over to the larger of the two couches where David is sitting. “You’re not alone, Regina and Henry pretty much did the same to me, so I came over here.”

          They take a seat, with Emma in the center of the couch next to her father, and Elsa on the other side of her, and she sees the television is indeed on with the volume turned low with the afternoon football game playing. She greets Mulan and Archie, and starts to eat from her plate, her stomach already growling in hunger.

          “Mm, this is very delicious, what is it called?” Elsa asks, and Emma watches her take another scoop of the dip with a ruffled potato chip.

          “French onion dip,” Emma says around a crunchy mouthful of ranch-dipped broccoli. “Always really tasty.”

          Emma eats over half of her plate before she slows down, and is leaning back comfortably against the back of the sofa. She sees Elsa staring at the television in a mixture of fascination and horror, absently bringing bits of food from her plate to her mouth.

          She seems to notice Emma’s gaze on her after a moment, and meets her eyes. “Ruby has been explaining the ‘sports’ of this land to me. This one is exciting to watch but it seems very violent, does it not?”

          “Yeah, I guess it is. But hey, they get paid for it,” Emma shrugs.

          “I suppose. Oh!” Elsa leans forward, elbows on her legs, to look around Emma and at David. “Granny said that she has a table that you can go get from her and bring here so we’re certain to have enough room for everyone.”

          David nods, shifting the gurgling Neal in his arms. “She said she would.   I should probably go get it, and some folding chairs so we have everything ready. Emma… would you mind watching Neal? I shouldn’t be gone more than twenty minutes.”

          Emma scrapes a finger through the last of her dip, and pops it into her mouth, before brushing her hands off and standing up with her plate. “Yeah, no, sure I can watch him, just let me put this by the sink and clean my hands.”

          Emma sidles past her mother in the kitchen, who is flipping through her recipe book, and sets down the plate and quickly washes her hands and pats them dry on the towel that hangs nearby. Her father is already standing when she returns to the couch, and he steps back to let her sit down where she has been.

          “Alright, here you go,” David bends down toward her. “He’s already eaten so he shouldn’t fuss for that. He may dirty his diaper though, so you might check that if he starts crying.”

          “Got it,” Emma says, and carefully takes her little brother into her arms, cradling him to her chest.

          His legs and arms jerk for a few moments as he gets used to the new person holding him, but he soon relaxes, and there’s a little smile on his lips, and he turns his head to her voice when she says, “Hey there, little guy, how are you?”

          Emma is only vaguely aware of David patting her on the shoulder and heading toward the door. The last week or two, more than ever, she’s ever more aware that she and Regina will be going through all of this with their own baby in the near future.

          And as much as it still brings the occasional pain to her heart at the thought of her parents replacing her with a child they could raise from the start unlike what they’d done with her, that grudge never extends to little Neal himself. Just looking down at his bright little eyes as he sticks his fingers into his mouth, she can’t help but smile at her little brother.

          “I don’t know how you’re so cute, little guy, but you are,” she murmurs, stroking his cheek with a finger as he coos. “And we’re gonna drive our mom and dad crazy when I spoil you rotten.”

          Emma lifts one hand above him, and wiggles her fingers, and grins as his chubby little hands reach up toward her, groping around until they grab a finger, and then slip off to do it again, a cherubic little smile on his face.

          “He is very cute,” Elsa agrees, reaching out to tickle at the fuzzy socks on his feet.

          “Growin’ up pretty fast, too,” comes Emma’s reply as she lets one of Neal’s hands keep hold for a long moment before slipping her finger away and teasing him with her fingers again. She gives Elsa a sidelong glance. “So, how’re you and Ruby doing… y’know, together?”

          Elsa grins proudly. “Wonderful. She’s… she’s the most beautiful person I’ve ever met, on the inside and the outside. And I asked her about her wolf form and she’s promised to take me next weekend for…. I think she called it Wolfstime?... When the moon is full, so I can see her as a wolf.”

          “Wow,” Emma lets a low whistle cross her lips. “That’s a pretty big step for her. I think she likes you just as much as you like her.”

          “I hope so,” Elsa says, her voice almost a whisper. “I’ve never… felt anything like this toward someone else. Sure, there’s Anna but that’s a different kind of... um, feeling,” the woman says, flipping her blonde braid over her shoulder nervously.

          She meets Emma’s eyes. “I think I may stay here, even if Regina finds a way for us to Arendelle. My sister still has hopes of returning, but I do not think she and Kristoff really quite understand that so much time has passed there, and that our people have likely moved on to a new king or queen to lead them. I do hope they will stay here with me, because I have come to like this land... and the people of this town.”

          “I think you’ll be able to convince them to stay, Elsa. And maybe a few holidays here like tonight or Christmas in a few weeks will help to do that.” Emma says, and pulls her hand away from Neal – who reaches up for her face after that – and rests it on her friend’s forearm. “And this might just be my opinion, but I think you and Ruby are really good for each other.”

          “Really?” Elsa asks, and Emma realizes her blue eyes are filled with a longing, for something. Validation? Approval?

          The other woman has told her enough for Emma to know that while she had a family, her parents hadn’t been the greatest. They feared her powers and taught her to suppress her emotions and hide, even from her sister. Emma isn’t sure if they feared her or loved her more, but they’d pretty clearly not handled things well.

          So, she simply tells the truth. “Really, Elsa. Other than your sister, I think Ruby’s the one who has gotten you to be as happy as I can see you are. And Ruby… she’s struggled with her past, and even we as her friends haven’t been there for her as much as I wish we were – as much as I wish I was. But you’re doing that, and I can see the difference in her. She’s… lighter I guess. Not as much weight held on her shoulders.”

          Elsa smiles widely at that. “I’m glad. She’s… she’s very special.”

          “That she is,” Emma winks, and looks down at little Neal who is making a scrunched-up face. Emma leans down closer to him and wrinkles her nose, pulling back. “Oops, looks like he’s already dirtied his diaper. I probably should change him. Wanna help?”

          Elsa laughs, and raises her hands. “Oh, no thank you, Emma. I’ll leave that to you.”

          Emma swats her friend’s shoulder, and slowly stands, adjusting Neal in her arms as she does so. “Alright, I’ll be back in a bit, got to find where my mom keeps his diapers and everything.”

          A quick stop by the kitchen to ask her mother leads her upstairs into the loft to a changing table. She looks down at the wide eyes of her brother as she places him down and he stares up at her. “Alright kid, just you and me, and a diaper. How hard can it be?”    

-=<=(__)=>=-

          As Thanksgiving dinner nears, more of their guests arrive. David has returned with a table, and put Neal down for a nap. The diaper changing hadn’t been too difficult for her first try, but then Neal had been rather tame as she’d done so.

Emma is sitting on a barstool in the kitchen, having given up her seat to Ruby who is now on the sofa, legs curled up beneath her with her head on Elsa’s shoulder, her red-nailed fingers toying with her girlfriend’s long braid as Elsa sits engrossed with an airing of _Charlie Brown’s Thanksgiving_.

          Granny is there as well; having arrived with her granddaughter and a wide array of casseroles and roasted vegetables they had made for the evening’s feast, and now she is helping finish up in the kitchen, taking over for Aurora who now sits on the floor with Mulan and Philip.

          Emma is checking her phone for any texts from Regina or Henry as Snow sidles up next to her, wiping her hands on a dishcloth.

          “Enjoying your Thanksgiving, honey?”

          Emma nods, thumbing back to the homescreen of her phone. “Yeah, it’s been pretty good so far,” she says, refraining from adding that she has only ever celebrated it a few times in her life anyway. “Just checkin’ to see if Regina and Henry are gonna be running late.”

          “Well, they have plenty of time. We just got the turkey out and it should rest for a good twenty minutes before we start carving it,” Snow sits down on the barstool next to her. “Are you settling into your apartment alright? Do you need anything? I’m sorry we haven’t been able to come over there and visit yet, everything with work and Neal has been so hectic.”

          Emma shrugs. “It’s fine, Mom, I’m settling in okay and we’ve been able to spend time here and at the Diner. The apartment is… nice I guess. Getting a bit of room and space without all of us crowded and sharing this place is the best part, and I think I needed it. Henry too.”

          Snow smiles, though Emma thinks it is somewhat forced. “I’m glad you’re getting what you need, Emma. That’s all we ever wanted for you…”

          “I know, Mom.” Emma reaches out to pat Snow’s hand.

          Snow nods, and turns in her seat. “So… have you started to think about dating again? Any of the men around town catching your eye? I know Hook didn’t take things well when you broke up, but maybe you could give it a try with someone else? Or even him again? He really does seem to love you.”

          “Mom…” Emma’s voice draws out in warning. “No, no men around town have caught my eye, and I’m _not_ getting back with Hook. Ever. And please don’t start thinking about matchmaking or setting me up on blind dates or anything like that, okay?”

          When her mother’s jaw drops for an instant, Emma realizes that’s exactly what the other woman had been thinking of doing.

          “I.. I’m sorry, Emma, I just worry about you, and want you to find someone to love.”

          Emma sighs and rubs the bridge of her nose, because she could just tell her that she already has. But she and Regina have decided to do it together after dinner so there’s not a chance that it might be ruined if some reactions are not as good as they hope they will, and she’s not going to do it without her.

          “Mom, please. I know you care, but I’m fine with how I am right now, and I want to deal with my love life on my own, alright?”

          Her mother looks like a kicked puppy, but there’s little Emma can do about it. Or want to do about it. They’re still sorting out how their relationship works as mother and daughter who are the same age, and this is one place that Emma has never wanted it to go.

          Another knock sounds at the door, thankfully breaking up their increasingly awkward conversation, and David answers it. Anna and Kristoff enter, greeting David warmly – Emma’s still not entirely sure what his past history with the two of them fully entails, but they know each another from the other land – and then join Elsa and Ruby by the couch, with Anna greeting everyone brightly as she walks past them.

          Regina and Henry enter the still-open door, only a few steps behind the couple, carrying covered pies in their arms – twelve in all, and likely more than anyone will eat, but Regina insisted they make sure there is enough since that’s all she is bringing. Emma didn’t complain – it means at least a few nights of tasty leftovers for dessert if they aren’t all eaten. Henry is lugging most of them while Regina balances two in one of her hands and has the necks of two bottles gripped in her other hand.

          Emma slides off the stool to go help, but Archie is already there, setting down the empty plate he is taking to the sink in order to relieve Henry – who is struggling a bit with balancing them – of several of the pies as Regina sets her own down on the food table.

          “Hey kid, you have fun?” Emma asks as she nears them, and ruffles his hair with her hand.

          Henry smiles, nodding readily. “Yup. It was like old times.”

          Emma sees Regina’s pleased and nostalgic smile and is glad that she decided to leave the two of them to spend their afternoon together. “Hey,” she greets Regina quietly, and brushes her fingers against Regina’s.

          “Regina, Henry, Happy Thanksgiving,” Snow greets, coming up behind them. “You really didn’t need to bring anything, Regina.”

          “I wanted to,” Regina says simply, and Emma sees a glint of surprise in the woman’s eyes and knows she hadn’t even thought of her words before she said them.

          “Well, as long as they’re not apple pies…” Snow winks, and when the corners of Regina’s lips curl into a smile, Emma realizes that _that_ relationship has been repaired more than she had thought if they’re making light of apples.

          “Well, Henry and I made pecan pies, sweet potato pies, and some pumpkin cheesecake, but I _did_ make an apple cinnamon pie mostly for Emma.”

          Emma grins at that, realizing her begging the other day for something with apples for the big dinner has paid off. “Thanks, Regina.”

          Regina rolls her eyes and puffs out a resigned breath. “I thought it best since you begged for one, so our gathering didn’t have to listen to you complaining all night.”

          “Sure, sure,” Emma jabs Regina softly with her elbow, and peers over the tops of the covered pies until she makes out the cinnamon-crusted top of the pie in question. “Thank you.”

          She merely nods, but her eyes speak volumes to Emma, telling her that she’d been silly to beg because Regina would have done it anyway, telling her she’d missed Emma all day, telling her she’s not comfortable here but holding up anyway for Emma and Henry.

          Regina lifts her other hand and sets down the bottles she is holding. “I brought cider as well, if anyone would like any. One bottle is hard cider, the other is non-alcoholic.”

          Snow smiles, and steps back toward the kitchen proper to check on the mashed potatoes cooking on the stove.

          Regina turns toward Archie, who has been joined by Pongo, and reaches into her purse, pulling out a rawhide bone. “Henry told me you were coming and I thought perhaps Pongo would like a Thanksgiving treat of his own.”

          Archie smiles warmly, and gestures toward Pongo who has moved into a sitting position, and is licking his lips wildly, staring up at the object in Regina’s hand. She inclines her head slightly, and bends down to offer the bone to Pongo, who takes it eagerly, and after a pat on the head from Regina he has run off into a corner and settled down to begin gnawing at it.

          “Thank you Regina, that was very thoughtful,” Archie touches her arm briefly.

          “Okay, this should be everyone,” Snow says in a loud voice from the kitchen, leaving Regina to simply nod in reply to Archie. “Let’s take our seats, the turkey is nearly ready to be carved, and the rest of the food is finished.”

          The next few minutes consist of everyone finding their seats – Henry and Emma ensuring they sit on either side of Regina. Or rather, Emma ensuring that she sits on the opposite side of Regina after Henry takes a seat next to her because she knows Regina is still not quite comfortable spending ‘family time’ like this with Emma’s parents. Once they’re seated, Emma rests her hand on Regina’s underneath the table, and feels the woman relax slightly, and she gives Emma a grateful glance.

          David stands near the end of the table, a carving knife and long-pronged fork in hand, hovering over the turkey. Snow places a hand on his before he moves to cut, and clears her throat loudly.

          “Thank you all for coming, it’s nice to spend holidays like this with family and friends. This is really our first chance to celebrate Thanksgiving together so I thought we might start a tradition by taking some time to say something we’re thankful for.”

          She glances at David, and continues. “We’ll start. We’re thankful for our children – for the chance to know both of them even if we missed so much time with Emma. You both mean so much to us,” she says, eyes locked onto Emma’s.

          Emma smiles, and feels her eyes threaten to water, but as always the ever-present urge to run from anything good – anything resembling something stable, but Regina’s hand suddenly coming to rest on her leg reminds her that it’s okay not to run and to embrace what has come to her.

          Snow sits back down, and nods to Emma and it takes her a moment until she realizes her mother wants her to continue next.

          “Well…” Her hand moves under the table to remove Regina’s from her leg and slip into its grip. “I’m thankful for… for finally having a place I can think of as a home.”

          Regina looks to her, and then squeezes her hand, fingers entwining with hers as she moves her other hand up to brush Henry’s shoulder. “I’m thankful for family,” the raven-haired woman says softly.

          Henry gives her a one-armed hug, grinning. “I’m thankful that we finally have some peace without someone trying to kill us all.”

          That brings some chuckles around the table, and Emma knocks on the table. “Hey, don’t jinx it, kid,” she teases around Regina.

          And it continues around the table after that, Archie saying he is thankful for all his friends there, Elsa thanking everyone for their help finding Anna, until it is finally time for David to carve the turkey as other dishes are passed around.

          Emma piles her plate with food as it is passed to her, filling every available inch with cranberries, crescent rolls, potatoes both roasted and mashed, and green bean casserole, and finally several big slices of the turkey, which by now is half-gone. She reaches for the stuffing as Archie passes it, and usually it is her favorite part the other times she’s eaten turkey, but she feels her stomach roil dangerously as the smell wafts to her nose. She quickly passes it to Regina, and brings her cup of cider up to her mouth and nose to replace the aroma.

          She smiles around the rim of her cup when Regina seems to understand her aversion to the smell and passes the stuffing to Henry without taking any. Emma has read about it, suddenly being unable to stand smells that you once were fine with smelling, in the pregnancy books Regina bought her – ones Regina has been reading even more than her, which is adorable and rather touching – but Emma had not experienced it with Henry. Then again, there wasn’t much for variety in the prison food she’d eaten then.

          Emma puts her cup back down and takes a proffered gravy boat from Regina, summarily glopping a large portion of its contents across half the food on her plate before passing it on to Archie. She pierces a slice of turkey with her fork and tears a piece off with her teeth, and then leans back in her seat, enjoying the moist meat and gravy as she chews.

          “Mm, this’s r’lly good, mom,” Emma says with a half-full mouth, earning her a soft pinch to the leg from Regina under the table.

          “Thank you Emma, I’m glad it turned out alright.”

          As the others around the table agree, Emma watches from the corner of her eye as Regina sighs to herself, and looks over to Snow. “Yes, it’s a…. passable attempt,” Regina says, and Emma knows if she had a Snow-Regina/English dictionary that it would translate that as meaning the turkey is delicious, and Snow smiles brightly at Regina in response. Maybe, just maybe, there won’t be a _complete_ nuclear meltdown later tonight, Emma ponders as she stabs into a roasted fingerling potato.

-=<=(__)=>=-

          Emma leans back on the couch, sighing and patting her stomach, grinning when Regina rolls her eyes. “That apple pie filled me to the brim, but it was worth it. You sure those things aren’t magical?” Emma whispers.

“Quite, dear. All hard work and patience, and a good apple tree,” Regina says and blushes slightly as she squeezes in next to her, halfway on the arm of the already occupied couch where most everyone has gathered after dinner around the television.

Archie was gone, though, having already left with Pongo, and Mulan and Aurora had left with little Philip, but the rest of their little group is still there. Snow and David are debating over what to watch as Regina leans her head closer to Emma and murmurs, “Is it time?”

          Emma takes a deep breath, taking in the comforting warmth of Regina’s side against hers, and nods. “Hey, guys?” Emma says, and her voice nearly cracks, and she can feel her palms sweating, but she’s glad now that they already told Henry because it isn’t nearly as intimidating.

          “What is it, Emma?” Snow asks, a victorious grin on her face as she snatches the remote out of her distracted husband’s hand.

          “I’ve got something I need to tell you guys. It’s… something pretty big. You might want to, uh, sit down for it.”

          Emma feels Henry lean closer to her, and Regina’s hand sides down to rest on her arm as her parents look toward her. She’s certain Ruby is hiding back a grin, and can see her nudging Elsa’s side with her elbow and whispering something in her ear. Snow’s smile from a moment before drops to a look of concern.

          “It’s not… bad news, is it?” Snow asks, standing near David’s chair. “You haven’t been feeling well lately – you’re not sick are you, honey? You-“

          Emma shakes her head quickly. “No, mom, no, I’m not sick or anything bad. This is good news.”

          “I’m… gonna have a baby,” Emma’s mouth blurts out before she’s even ready.

          David’s brow furrows, and Snow’s jaw is slack for a long moment.

          “Y-you’re pregnant?” Snow’s voice is slow, as if she’s wondering if she completely misheard.

          “Yeah. A little past eight weeks,” she says, and leans back to pull at the folded piece of paper in her pocket. The original picture was already in the baby book, but she’d copied it for this very moment, and she unfolds it and holds it out to her parents.

          “You’re pregnant,” Snow repeats after shaking fingers take the copied image.

          “I’m pregnant.”

          Snow’s gaze snaps up to her, and then down to the hand Regina still has on Emma’s arm, and her pale face suddenly flushes bright red. “Oh…. The – the baby books, weren’t for Regina… they were for you?”

          Emma doesn’t even need to see Regina next to her to know her eyes are rolling and that there’s likely a satisfied smirk on her lips. “Yeah, she got them for me. She’s not pregnant. You went kinda a bit crazy with the whole gossip train there.”

          Snow deflates slightly, but Emma can see her fingers are gripping tightly to David’s shoulder, and that’s when her father finally speaks.

          “I’m… I’m happy for you, Emma, but… this is kind of a shock. We didn’t know you were with someone after you broke things off with Killian. It’s not his, is it?”

          “No! Nor even possibly. We never… y’know... So, not possible.” Emma gestures vaguely with her hands as she speaks, and is rewarded by an embarrassed blush on her father’s cheeks.

          “Who is the father then? And why isn’t he here?” Her father asks then, his voice tightening as he looks around the room.

          “Well... that’s the thing,” Emma says slowly. “There’s no father. The baby is mine and Regina’s,” she shifts her hand to rest it on top of the one Regina still has on her arm.

          “Oh….” Snow begins, but the next moment shows she doesn’t yet get it when she then smiles warmly at Regina, “That’s very sweet of you, Regina. I mean you already share Henry, and I’m sure Emma can use the help, and we’ll be here to help too. So, the father left, or… you did tell him, Emma? He shouldn’t run away from his responsibilities,” she continues with a frown, and Emma sees David’s face darkening at the idea.

          Emma heaves as sigh and shakes her head, blonde hair falling across her shoulders and partially draping Regina’s as it pressed against hers. “No, I meant literally, there’s no father…”

          “Ooh, planning on starting a religious movement there Emma?” Ruby teases, grinning at the look Emma shoots her for that.

          “Thank you for that, Ruby,” Regina drawls sarcastically.

          “Anyway, yeah, there’s no father. Regina and I… we’re, uh, together. Like, dating together. Regina’s my girlfriend. And Regina’s the mother of the baby. Literally.” Emma stutters out.

          She sees her mother’s face pale even further about halfway through that, and her knuckles are bright white on David’s shoulder. “But… Emma… You’re- you’re not a lesbian.” Snow manages, and her free hand rises to point at Henry. “I – you, had Henry.”

          Regina slides an arm around Emma’s shoulders, and leans forward slightly. “It’s called bisexuality, dear,” she says, and Emma can almost feel the enjoyment at Snow’s flustered reaction dripping off Regina.

          Snow takes a step back, nearly bumping into an end table, and her gaze shifts back to Emma. “But you… and Regina. Together?” She asks in a weak voice that slowly grows stronger and more hysterical. “She’s… she’s my stepmother! And you just, you just can’t!”   

          Emma grimaces at that. “Yeah, mom, we’re together. And don’t even start on our messed up family tree. I only know Regina Mills, here in Storybrooke.” She lets her fingers slide in between Regina’s, “I know it might be a shock, but, that’s where we are, and I hope you can accept it.”

          She can see her mother’s stubbornness rise up in her face, even as she stares in disbelief at Emma.

          “H-honey… how would it even be possible for you to have a baby? With Regina?”

          “Magic. I hear it’s not something unheard of back in the Enchanted Forest.”

          “But – but that would mean…” Snow is wavering slightly, and Emma isn’t sure if it’s the idea that this is her and Regina who made this baby, or the fact that the magic meant they were True Loves, that is hitting her mother the hardest. Regina hasn’t told her, perhaps because she isn’t quite ready for the implications herself or because she doesn’t want to jinx things between them, but it took only that first evening in the mansion for Emma to think about what Regina had told her, realize just what kind of powerful magic could do this.

          “That means you’re –“ There’s a clatter as the remote control drops from Snow’s hand, and it’s only the quick action of David grabbing her waist that keeps her from falling to the floor when her knees give out, and she’s left staring wildly between Emma and Regina, her mouth moving with no sound emerging.

          “Emma…” David says slowly, glancing at Snow for a long moment. “This is really… very sudden and it’s a lot to take in, I’m sorry, I don’t know what to say. Are… are you sure about this? Are you happy with her?” His gaze swings over to Regina after he asks it, and fixes her with a stare.

          Emma raises her hand that is still wrapped around Regina’s, up to her chest, and bows her head enough to brush her lips across their knuckles. “Yeah, dad. I am.” She turns her head to meet Regina’s eyes. “Happier than I’ve ever been.”

          Regina’s earlier amusement is gone from her face, and the smile that comes to her lips is almost shy. “I am too,” she says softly, her eyes not straying to David or Snow, or anyone else.

          “Okay,” David breathes out slowly. “It’s going to take some getting used to, especially for your mother I think,” he eyes Snow warily, but she is now just staring at Emma and Regina. “But if you’re happy… that’s all we really want for you, Emma. And if that means Regina and you… that’s alright with me.”

          Emma gives him a thankful nod, and that seems to be the cue to the others in the room to break into the conversation.

          “It’s about time, you two,” Granny’s gruff voice is the first to be heard.

          That sets Ruby off, laughing wildly. “That’s what I told her!” She gasps out, her face half-buried against Elsa’s arm as another bout of laughter hits her.

          Elsa just shakes her head and shares an amused glance with Emma. “I’m happy for you, Emma, I thought there was something between the two of you,” she says teasingly.

          “Yeah, uh, congratulations on the baby,” Anna says brightly. “That’s sort of weird though, isn’t it?” The redhead’s eyes widen and her fingers fly to her lips. “Oh, I didn’t mean the baby, the baby’s not weird, and I’m sure it’ll be a very cute one. You’re both really nice looking and everything, so the baby should be too and totally won’t be weird-looking…. I’m sorry, I just meant I didn’t realize magic could make a baby-“

          Kristoff nudges her from his seat next to her, and puts an arm around Anna’s shoulder.

          “Right, shutting up now, just, congratulations and everything,” the now-flustered woman finishes.

          “Thanks Anna,” Emma replies, taking pity on the rambling girl. “It was a bit of a surprise for us but we’re glad.”

          “What is this… image?” Elsa suddenly asks, having leaned over to glance at the sonogram image that David has set on the coffee table, and touch the edge of it with her fingers.

          “It’s a picture of the baby. There’s a device we have in this world that lets you take pictures of babies as they’re growing inside of a woman,” Emma releases Regina’s hand to lean forward and trace out the shape of their baby with a finger. “Right now it’s still developing but here’s the head and the brain, and these are the legs and arms.”

          “Amazing,” Elsa says, staring at the image as she picks it up to look more closely.

          “Yeah, it kinda is,” Emma grins, and leans back into Regina’s arm.

          “D’you know if it’s gonna be a boy or a girl yet?” Henry asks from her side.

          “No, not yet, kid. It’ll be a few weeks before they can tell that.”

          “Is there anything you need? Anything we can help with?” Her father asks, his elbows now leaning on his knees as he sits forward, concern on his face, and she knows that the next months will probably be full of a lot of this from everyone whether she wants it or not.

          “I’m good right now. In the next few months I’m gonna have to stop the more physical stuff as Sheriff, so I’ll be stuck with desk stuff, so if you could take some slack there when I need you to…. I’ll let Mulan know too, I hadn’t thought she and Aurora would leave as quickly as they did but I guess the kiddo needed his sleep.”

          “Sure, whatever you need just let me know,” David says.

          “Same here,” Ruby calls across the room. “I’m up for being a part time deputy again if you guys need any help.”

          “Thanks,” Emma smiles gratefully over at her friend.

          “Don’t thank me yet, I’m already planning your baby shower,” Ruby grins broadly.

          “Geez, really Rubes?” Emma groans, but feels her heart warming a bit. Last time she’d had no one but a somewhat sympathetic cellmate to lean on for help during her pregnancy with Henry. This time, she has friends, family – she knows her mother will be there for her even if she’s currently seeing her life flash before her eyes from that revelation about Regina – and the woman she’s falling rather madly in love with each day, to help her. And if that’s not something to be eternally thankful for, she doesn’t know what is.

-=<=(__)=>=-

-=<=(__)=>=-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Sorry to fans of this story but this is on hiatus and I honestly am not sure if I'll ever finish this one. My OUaT interest was already waning when I was writing this, and right now I've moved on to other fandoms and have given up on the show (just the way SQ is treated by the showrunners, etc., and the way the story has been going, it's just not for me anymore).
> 
> Sorry to everyone who liked this and thank you for all the reviews and kudos for this fic, it has meant a lot.


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